Kids Tufted Headboard Tutorial

I finally got it together and here is a tutorial for a fun headboard, this one was made for my son's room, he is 16 and wanted something in red that would be bright and cheerful. 

Kids Tufted Headboard Tutorial

It will be easier if two people do the job!

YOU WILL NEED:

1. A piece of chip board or plywood cut to desired measurement, most big stores will do it for free, I had mine cut at Lowe's 

The chipboard I used was very heavy and thick so I strongly recommend using plywood!

2. Fabric. It must be fairly thick because you pull it very tightly and it can tear (I had a big piece of very thick red cotton and denim can also work well) I made sure I have a fabric hang over of approx. 7" on all sides.

3. Electric staple gun with .5" staples

4. Drill

5. Spray adhesive

6. Covered button kit (I got mine here , you can also get it at a craft store) and fabric to cover the buttons

7. 1.5"-2" thick foam

8. Batting, I used polyester

9. Very strong upholstery thread (I used Gutermann M782)

10. LONG upholstery needle

11. Tape measure and ruler

12. Scissors

13. Iron and ironing board

14. Hammer

15. Flush Mount hardware to hang on the wall

HOW TO:

First thing would be to decided on the size and shape you want ( long,wide, square etc.) I wanted the headboard to make the bed look more like a sofa or day bed so I chose to make it long and narrow.

1.& 2. Lay the chipboard or plywood down (I did it all on the dining table) and decide where you want to place your buttons, measure everything accurately by measuring the length and dividing it to the number of buttons you want, measure from the the top and the bottom too to make sure they are at the same distance from all sides, then mark the button placement with a pencil.

3. Drill very tiny holes into the board, don't forget to put somthing under the borad so you don't drill holes into your table!!! Make sure the holes are big enough for the needle to go through.

4 & 5. Spray your board lightly with adhesive, lay the foam on the board and press, wait a few minutes and then cut away the access.

6. Lay your batting on top of the foam (I doubled it).

7. & 8. Staple the batting to the back of the board all around, that makes the edges nice and rounded and kid safe.

9. Lay the fabric on the table.

10. Place the board in the middle of the fabric, make sure it's even on all sided, at this time you can also cut away any access fabric if you need to.

11. Now that the fabric is all measured out and cut to size this will be the time to take out your iron and smooth out any creases.

12. Place the fabric back on the table and place the board in the middle of the fabric and fold the fabric inward on the side you will be stapling down.

13. & 14. Start stapling in the MIDDLE of the longest side and work your way down both sides, I alternated and stapled once to right and once to the left of that same side until I reached the ends, try to staple the fabric down at the same distances around 4-6" between each staple.You can hammer the staples down for extra safety.

15. Now start stapling the other side again starting in the MIDDLE but this time PULL HARD on the fabric before you staple it down, do that each time you staple on that side so the fabric is nice and tight.

16. Finish working on that side, don't forget to alternate again to the right and the left of your first middle staple.

17 & 18. Now start stapling the last two sides, first Create an nice neat fold (see photo)

19. Then do the same as in the first two sides stapling the middle then down

both ways.

20. Flip the headboard over, you should have a nice, smooth and tight looking headboard now.

21. Choose fabric colors to cover your buttons, I bought small pieces of very basic 100% cotton twill at Jo-Ann's in lots of colors that will look good against the red background, I also chose black and grey for a slightly more "grown-up" look.

22. Cover you buttons with the fabric following the kit instructions (it's soooo easy!!!)

23. Place your covered buttons on the headboard to decide on the right color scheme and then write the scheme down on a piece of paper.

24. Thread your needle with the SUPER STRONG upholstery thread, I doubled my thread twice!

25. Hold the headboard up (this part really needs another helping hand) run your needle through the first hole poking through the layers of foam, batting and fabric and catch the button's loop, then poke the needle back through all the layers and back into the same hole (that's why it's good to have a long needle). leave very long tails of thread hanging, enough for you to be able to really hold on the them and twist them around your fingers so you can PULL AS HARD AS YOU CAN!!!!

26. NOW that your pulling as hard as you can, have your partner staple down the thread tails and hammer the staples down hard so the threads do not slip back and release the button,staple them a few times zig zaging the thread, stapling it and hammering it down. (this is the most difficult part).

27. Continue doing this all the way down the side. Now go drink tea and rest ...then do the other side.

28. TA DA!!! It's done!!! use your Flush Mount hardware to hang the headboard in the desired place, again here you will need two people to do the job.

 

 

 

I hope you enjoyed this:)

xox

Comments

[Nursing cover]

oh cool! excellent tutorial. nice! now it's time for my daughter to be my tutee. :D

[sarah]

i just LOVE this headboard!!! i want it for my daughter who is still in a cot... hurry up and grow little one so i can make you this!!!

[Julie]

Fabulous! Thanks for putting that together to share with us.

[Rachel]

Yay! That is way fabulous, I love it! I'll be linking to this.

[mary the calico cottage]

Great headboard. I love the use of color and the button detail.
We made one of these for our son's college bedroom the same way minus the buttons. We used a thick cotton fabric..really a shower curtain from the clearance table at TJ Maxx, bought for a song. The end result was nice, DS liked it very much.
This is an excellent way to pull a room together with color.

[holly]

I love the different colored buttons against the red, very striking! Thanks for the detailed tutorial.

[Oopsiegal]

I love your blog! All of the colors you use in the jewelry you create are so cheery and bright-I love them too! I look forward to your entries every day.

Thanks!!!

[Doreen Frost]

Hello. So nice to meet another Vermont Blogger.

What a great tutorial!

:)Doreen

[Vicki K]

Oh thank you! I would love to do something like this for my teenagers but having an 'after' photo really helps the convincing part...

[Juliette R.]

great tutorial - thorough and not too wordy!