DIY Headboard

Today I am doing a tutorial on how to make an upholstered headboard! It's a cheaper and more enjoyable way to spruce up your bedroom and keep yourself busy. 

You Will Need: 

• A piece of plywood to your measurements
• 4 pieces of wood (to use as a rim on your frame)
• 2 pieces of wood for legs
• Eggshell foam mattress cover
• Polyester batting
• Spray-on glue
• Self-Upholstery buttons
• A material of your choice
• Staple gun
• Scissors
• Marker
• Drill and Screws
• Needle and fishing line

1. You will need to make a frame. Get your piece of plywood cut to size when you buy it. We bought all of our wood from Mitre 10. Cut the 4 pieces of wood to fit around the edges of the plywood. Glue & Screw them to the right place. This will provide a better place to staple and will also add thickness to the 

headboard. 

2. Drill small holes where you wants your tufts to be. This is where your buttons will go after. 

3. Cut the foam to the right size. We used a Double Eggshell foam mattress topper from Target. Make two layers with the bumps of the bottom one facing up, and the bumps of the top one facing down. They should interlock and create a flat surface on the top. Glue each layer into place with the spray-on glue. 

4. Use a pin or the needle to stick through the holes on the bottom of the frame. The needle will come up through the foam and show you where your buttons will be. It is important to get them in the right place. Mark where they will be with your marker. 

5. Use your fingers to pull out circles of foam over the marks. Make the holes a tiny bit bigger than the size of the buttons. 

6. Cover your buttons with your fabric. Cut the batting to the size of your board, adding 30cm to every side, just to be safe. Add a couple of staples on each side at the back, to hold it in place. Thread a buttononto the needle with a 50cm peice of fishing line, double up the line to it becomes 25cm long. 

7. Now is when it gets a bit tricky. Measure your piece of material to about 30-40cm bigger than your board. I found it helpful to stand up the headboard on two chairs. Find the tuft hole which is closest to the middle, and put through the needle from the top. It must go through the batting, the hole in the foam, and the hole in the wood. Pull it tight from the back. Secure in place with a few staples, taking the line one way, stapling, and back the other way, stapling again. Repeat a few times until line is stable and wont slide away. 

8. Repeat with all the tufts, working from the centre to the edges. Secure well with staples each time. When folds and bumps appear, it is important to let them crease how they want, because it adds to the effect of the tufts. 

9. Now you have to secure the fabric at the back. Fold over the fabric and work the creases and folds along the edges into a position that you are happy with. Pull the material over the frame at the back and go crazy with staple gun. Really, don't be shy. Put in so many staples they are nearly touching each other. Go around every side and fold the corners like you would a present. If the batting gets in the way, feel free to cut it away at places, especially in the corners. 

10. You can cover the legs if desired, but I didn't. We put mount on the back of the headboard and drilled the legs into the mounts and through the fabric onto the bottom edge. Attach it to your bed, or even hand it from the wall without legs!

Headboards are so fun and enjoyable to make and the overall cost was just under AU$100. It's much cheaper than any bought upholstered headboard, and I found it a really valuable experience. Again, sorry for the crappy photos :/.

Au Revoir xx