DIY Upholstered Headboard

Making this bed/headboard was a lot of  fun! Cam and I had some great date nights working on this. I never thought I could make something so pretty. If you have a DIY in mind, don't be scared to try. Just do it. There's just something great about making your own stuff and when you can save a little $$ in the process it makes it even better.

 Measure out where you want the button/tufts to be. Then drill the holes through the plywood

Spray the adhesive on the foam and place it on top of the plywood. Then use an electric knife and cut the access foam off. Let it dry then stand it up on it's side. Then stick your needle through the drilled holes and the foam.  Cut a 1/2inch hole all the way through the foam where the needle came through.  (I don't have a picture for this step). This will make the tufting easier later on.

Lay the plywood on the batting. I would use the thicker/firmer batting. If you bought thinner batting you might want to double it up to make it thicker. Then start stappling away. Don't pull too tight with the batting or it might rip.

Try to make the corners look as clean as possible. Think wrapping a present.  

Then repeat this step with your fabric.  

The next three picture show how to staple and fold the corners.  

 

 The main part is done!

We screwed together 1- 1x6 and 1 2x6 for each of the arms of the headboard (so that they would be 3 inches thick) and had them cut to 60 inches (that's how tall we wanted our headboard to stand)  

Chiseling out the area where the L-brackets go. If you don't chisel it out you might be able to see a bump in the fabric where the bracket is.  

After the brackets are placed cover with batting and then the fabric.

Then add the nail head trim. You can buy the strips of nail head that way you don't have to nail in each individual one, I think it's every 6th one. Then cover the buttons.

Wax thread is the secret to this whole process. It makes the tufting super easy!

Thread your needle and tie a regular button on the bottom with a square knot

I don't have a picture of this, but don't start from the front, start from the back of the headboard. Pull the needle through to the front. Then put on the upholstered button and push the need back through to the back. This is where cutting the foam out earlier will help in finding the hole in the wood to pull the needle through.

Pull it through the button hole on the back.  

This is where you will see how AMAZING the wax thread is. It will keep the button held tight. Before, you tie it I would have someone come help you. Have them push on the upholstered button in the front. Then tie the thread into a few square knots.

Make sure to buy a long/thick needle.  

 The last step is to attach the arms.

 Looks pretty great, right?