DIY One Hour Fabric HeadBoard

Hi all! Its another rainy dreary day in NYC today, which is perfect for two things soup and a stay at home project. Well really I didnt have a choice in the matter, my dad has been on my case asking me when am I going to get to his headboard ever since 6 months ago that I made my headboard well today was the day.

You can warm up nice bowl of soup mine is French onion and eat it during the making of this headboard. If you aren't coordinated to do so, there is nothing wrong with that. Warm up the soup after and enjoy your work.

I had already purchased the materials here and there the last being the fabric its very difficult buying a fabric for a man who is so picky.

I didn't get as fancy or technical with the headboard, it was just for my father who wanted something to keep his pillows from falling behind the bed and to finish off the basic mattress frame bed. He could have gone out and bought a headboard but they are way overpriced. Plus the hassle of looking for the right color to match the rest of the room and style without getting "all girly" as he said. The following pics below are a few options to buy but way to fancy and "girly" for a 65 year old man.



How to make a Easy Fabric Headboard

Materials and Tools


1. Heavy duty stapler with 3/8in staples

2. 3/8 in plywood that is wide enough and high enough for the bed it is for
Make sure it is high enough for the padding to go from the top of the mattress to as high as you want it to go.
For the queen size bed I have I used 5ft wide by 5ft high piece of plywood

3. Enough fabric to cover the front of the headboard plus the foam and be able to wrap it around the back to fasten with out any weird pulls or even tears. mine was 3 yards of 60 inch fabric

4. 2 inch thick foam that wide enough to go from the top of the mattress to the top of the headboard and the length has to be the same as the width of the plywood. mine was and old twin size foam topper that I cut to size

5. Batting that is the same size as the fabric you purchased
I didn't use any on this project because I didn't remember till last minute that I didn't have any , I will kick myself if it starts tearing at the edges, which it is supposed to prevent

6. A long piece of lumber or a yard stick

7. A cutting knife

8. Fabric cutting scissors

9. Black marker

10. Measuring tape

Step One



Measure, mark and cut your foam to length. It helps using the long piece of wood as a guide and to push down the foam as you cut the foam.

Step Two



Make a few staples in the foam where the bottom of the foam would meet the mattress. This is to hold the foam in place when you turn the plywood over. The batting would also serve the same purpose. But remember I am the forgetful one who forgot to buy hers.

Step Three

The instructions for attaching the fabric is the same as attaching the batting.





Staple the fabric to the front of the headboard first. Laying the board down on the floor foam side up, adjust the fabric around the front of the board making it all even around with enough fabric to wrap around the top, side and bottom of the foam. Cut extra fabric. Measure the middle of the headboard at the bottom for a queen size it is 30 inches and staple along the bottom of the foam. Measure two more times between the middle and the ends and staple along the bottom of the foam. The stapling ensures that the fabric lies evenly across the headboard especially if it has a pattern. Staple in between the first three staples evenly along the bottom of the foam.

Step Four




Turn the whole headboard over so that u see the back of the plywood board. Bring the fabric around to the back of the board to staple. As you measured and stapled in the front do so with the top flap stopping 10 inches from the sides. Bring in the first and second side stapling in the middle and working your way up and down the sides. To finish off the top flap turn the sides in and overlap the top as you would be tucking in the sheets on a bed. Staple all the extra fabric down to keep from having lumps to make the headboard as flush as possible to the wall.




Now turn it over and adjust the fabric as necessary you can take out staples and re staple if fabric is being pulled oddly. You can add nail head or covered buttons and tufts if you want. But that is another diy for another day. But if you want it plain as day as my Father this is the result.



This is mine



Mine is made with a raw silk material. Smaller headboard requires less material so I spent a little bit more dinero. I did use the nail heads along the top and I do plan to out them down the sides as well.

So hopefully this DIY was helpful and keeping a few dollars in your pocket as well a your eyes happy. If not, nobody told you to buy the expensive fabric, haha just kidding. Whatever ♥