DIY Tufted Headboard...

Hi friends!!

Oh my goodness it's so crazy to resurrect this little blog that started with only a few posts but a big heart behind it. :)  So much has changed since Africa... Kenya was amazing... fast forward over two years...  and now I'm married, living in Annapolis, and we have a new puppy... Charlee girl!

Ok so lots of you were asking how I made my headboard and I thought the easiest way to share it would be on here. :)

Let's do this...

What you need:

• Plywood 3/4" thick.  I made a queen and just kept it as a rectangle with no fancy cuts at the top so my piece was about 60" wide by 32" tall.
• Foam 3" thick  I found two twin size mattress foam toppers in the clearance section at Bed Bath & Beyond.  And with their 20% discount I hit the jackpot :)
• Fabric.  For our queen bed I used 3 yards of 54" wide fabric for the headboard and buttons.  This was plenty.
• Polyester Batting.  70" wide by 40" tall 
• Drill
• Hammer
• Staple Gun.  This became my BFF through this project
• Button Kit.  I used 39
• Upholstery Needle and Thread Side note: the longest needle is helpful, but it wasn't long or strong enough for me to get it through the plywood then 3" of foam and batting and then fabric, so I would recommend finding a metal skewer in your house if you have one :) 
• Zip ties.  I actually stumbled across these 8" Mounting Ties at Home Depot and really liked the additional hole.  You'll see why later.
• Two Heavy Duty Drywall Hangers.  I got mine from Home Depot

Step One: Cut Your Plywood

Cut your plywood down to size. Since ours is a queen, I had Home Depot cut it 60" wide and 32" tall.  Your first two cuts are free, so it was perfect :)

Step Two: Mark Tuft Holes and Drill

On the back of the plywood mark where to drill your holes. You can have them as far away as you like. I wanted a deep tufted look so I kept them kind of close. One of the blogs that helped me through the process started their first row 2.5" from the top, 3" from the left side, and then 9" apart. I fit 7 in that row. 

Then measure 4.5" below that line.  You want to alternate your tufts, so measure in 7.5" from the left side and start marking your drill holes. Measure another 9" for the next button.  I fit 6 in this row.

When all was said and done, I had 3 rows of 7 and 3 rows of 6.    

Step Three: Lay Down Polyester Batting and Foam.  Then Staple Away!



First, lay your polyester batting and foam/mattress topper down.  You will likely need to cut your foam to size.  Also you can see how I left some extra foam at the top of mine.  I thought this would give it a nice rounded edge at the top.  However I'm not sure if it really helped.

Ta dah!!  I loved me some staple gun on that last step! :)

Step Four: Make Some Buttons

I made 39 button for my 39 holes.  Making these buttons wasn't my favorite part. But thankfully I had some help from the hubs!

Step Five: Time to Start Tufting!

Drape the fabric over the headboard in a comfortable place.  I positioned mine so I could get under it pretty easily.  This will be the longest process... and now would be the time to put your cozies on and grab a glass of wine :) I began in the middle, which will help ensure that you have enough fabric and don't get in a bind towards the end.

So I confess, I did a terrible job of documenting this part.  Which if there is anything to document it's this one! I'm going to try and give you the play by play...

1. Cut a 4" piece of your Upholstery Thread and thread it through the button and tie a knot to secure it.
2. Take your skewer if you have one and poke it through from underneath the plywood up through the foam, then the polyester batting, and then gently poke your fabric so you know where to come back down with your button.
3. Use an Upholstery Needle and thread the button's thread through just the fabric.  Then tie your Zip Tie to the back.  So your fabric should be sandwiched between your button and Zip Tie.
4. Cut the end of your Zip Tie at an angle- this will give it a sharp point to go down through all the batting, foam, and plywood hole. This may require some elbow grease to get that sucker to find the hole through all that stuff.  The first few took me like 5-10 min each, but then I got the hang of it and it was much faster and fun :)
5. Once the Zip Tie is through and poking out the back of the plywood, take another Zip Tie and push it up the end to secure it (see below).
6. One by one, working from the inside out finish up all the buttons.  You may want to be sensitive to how the fabric is laying as you pull the button tight so it has the look you are going for.
7. After you have finished all you tufts, pull the extra fabric around each edge and use that trusty staple gun to secure it.  Also, sometimes I needed to hammer the staples down to make sure they were secure.

If my directions were a bit confusing without pics, check out this blog for some help, starting at Step 6.  She had a slightly different approach, but her way looks good too :)

Step Six: Fasten the Mounting Ties

If you used zip ties, you can skip this step and just trim your zip ties down.  If you used Mounting Ties, they are perfect to tuck down.

Step Seven: Ta Dah!
Prop up your completed headboard and admire what you've done :)

Step Eight: Mount it
I mounted mine with two of these Heavy Duty Drywall Hangers.  And when they say heavy duty they mean heavy duty.

After this you should be good to go!! Thanks to everyone for your sweet comments on our new bed!  It took a little bit of work, but was so worth it. Please let me know if you have any questions or trouble at all. I am so happy to help!

PS: Here are a couple of the blogs that coached me through my process...
Schue Love
Thrifty Decor Chick