My husband and I aren’t especially handy, so we’re extra proud of the fabric-covered headboard we made for our bed. If we, a writer and a computer programmer, can do it, so can you. This is a cost-effective and relatively quick project; we spent around $100 for all the necessary materials, and we assembled it on a Sunday afternoon.
These instructions are for a king-sized bed, but the measurements can be adjusted to fit beds of other sizes. We have an extra-thick pillow-top mattress, so if you have a thinner mattress or don’t want such a tall headboard, you may want to adjust the measurements accordingly.
The design of this headboard is a simple rectangular shape that attaches to a metal bed frame with bolts. All of the necessary wood comes from one piece of plywood. Prices listed below are approximate.
First, here’s a list of everything you’ll need:
Materials
3/4″ thick regular ol’ plywood (4′ x 8′) – $25
3 yards beautiful fabric – $50
Twin-size high-loft quilting batting – $10
4 each of carriage bolts, washers, and nuts (The size of these should match the holes in the bed frame where you’ll be attaching the finished headboard.) – $2
Box of nails (1 1/2″ long) – $5
Tools
Hammer
A sturdy staple-gun and staples (not your lightweight crafting one)
Fabric scissors
Power sander and course-grit sandpaper
Power drill
Power saw (You can have most of the cuts made at your local home improvement store, but our local Home Depot would not make lengthwise cuts to a width under 12″.)
Safety glasses, mask, and ear protection
Saw horses
A blanket or sheet (This is handy for draping over the saw horses or on the ground to keep your beautiful fabric clean.)
Instructions
1. Cut the plywood into the following pieces (see diagram):
- A Main headboard piece: 6′ x 42″
- B Backing piece: 6′ x 5 3/4″
- C Gap Filler: Two 6″ x 4 1/4″ pieces (May vary depending on how high you want the top of the headboard. The width should match the width of D. The height should be whatever necessary to fill the gap between B and D.)
- D Legs: Two 6″ x 4′ pieces
The following diagrams show how the pieces will eventually fit together (But don’t start pounding nails just yet. You’ll need to drill some holes and work on the legs first.)
Back View:
Front View:
2. Drill two bolt holes in each leg piece (D). You’ll need to measure the height of openings in your metal bed frame where you’ll be attaching the legs and mark the corresponding places on the leg pieces. Use a drill bit 1/16″ larger than the bolts. Mark which side of each leg piece is the front/back so that you’ll know how it should attach to the headboard later on. (Otherwise, your bolt holes may not match your bed frame.)
3. Nail the backing piece (B) to back of main headboard piece (A). Put the nails in from the front, i.e., from the front of the headboard into the backing piece (A to B).
4. Nail the gap filler pieces (C) to the back of the main headboard piece (A). Again, put the nails in from the front. These gap filler pieces (C) should be snug against the backing piece (B).
5. Sand at an angle along the top and side edges of the headboard to round the corners slightly.
6. Cover the bottom 21″ of the leg pieces (D) with fabric (no batting) and staple the fabric in place. The seam should be on the back (the side that will be against the wall when finished). Don’t worry about the raw edge of the fabric. It will eventually be hidden.
7. Lay your batting over your headboard piece and trim it so that you have enough to cover the entire main headboard piece (A) and to also wrap around on all sides. (Make sure you have at least a few inches extra on all sides). Wrap batting around the bottom edge on the back of the main headboard piece (A) and staple in place. Do not attach the sides or top yet.
8. Repeat the trimming and stapling of the previous step, but with the fabric. Leave even more surplus fabric on all sides. You’ll want the fabric to cover all the batting.
9. Nail the leg pieces (D) to the main headboard piece (A), again from the front, making sure the pieces are snug. (Refer to the “Back View” and “Front View” diagrams if necessary.) Before nailing, make sure to check the marks you made in step 2, which indicate the front/back of the leg pieces.
10. Lay the batting over the entire face of the main headboard piece (A), making sure that it lies flat. Wrap surplus batting to the back of the main headboard piece (A) and staple along the top and then the sides.
11. Repeat the previous step, but with the fabric. Make sure the fabric lies flat, but don’t stretch it excessively. This step is best done with a helper who can hold the fabric in place while you staple. You can trim excess fabric and batting from the back if necessary. When you’re done with this step, you should have a finished-looking headboard that looks like this from the back:
And like this from the front:
12. Find the holes you drilled into the leg pieces (D) in step 2. With fabric scissors, cut a small piece of fabric around each hole and both on the front and back.
13. Bolt the headboard legs to the bed frame. That’s it! Congratulations! Hopefully you’ll enjoy your headboard as much as we love ours.
IMpressive!! Looks great, good directions, very cool.
Julia,
Thank you!! We’re so happy that it all worked out without any major mishaps–which is how DIY projects usually go….
Great post! I’ll probably blog something similar later. Fabric Scissors
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I googled “fabric covered headboard” and your blog came up. I am planning on making this for a king pillowtop mattress so I couldn’t be happier I found your directions. It looks awesome!!
Mary, I hope your headboard turns out beautifully! I’d love to know.
If you attached the legs before the fabric is wrapped around entire board, then how do you work the fabric around the legs….thanks
CeCe,
Thanks for the question. Basically, the headboard fabric is wrapped around the entire board in TWO separate steps. Hopefully the following will clarify what you need to do:
In steps 7 and 8, you attach the fabric to the BOTTOM of the headboard, but NOT the sides or top. This allows you to attach the legs in the next step.
In step 9, you attach the legs. (Remember, at this point, you’ll see the bare wood of the top part of the legs against the headboard.)
In steps 10 and 11, you wrap and attach the headboard fabric around the sides and top of the headboard, covering the bare wood of the legs at the same time. Thus, when you’re done with these steps, it’ll look like the photo shown in step 11.
I hope this makes sense! Let me know if you have any further questions.
[...] the fully illustrated instructions click here. [...]
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Thank you for your posting. I will be bolting my headboard to the wall, because I live in an apartment and wouldn’t want to wake the neighbor with a headboard banging against the wall during sex.
I made a similar headboard out of an old wood door from the Rebuilding Center here in Portland. I am going to use your blog to help me figure out what boards and how to attach it to my bed frame.
Thanks for the blog post!
-Kori in Portland
Your headboard looks beautiful! Excellent directions. I plan on making one for my mom.
thank you for this one we are moveing into a new house and do not have a lot of money so I will be makeing a a headboard for us something sexy and cool that we will love to live with for a long time thank you agin
Thank you! Found your post on a google search for our weekend project today… we took a different twist, but loved the way it turned out.
And now, you have another blog-reader. Beautiful words, thank you for sharing all of them.
Liso,
Thanks for your comment! I’m glad your project worked out well. And thank you for your kind words about my blog. I hope you continue to enjoy it.
Well, I am the most uncrafty person, you will meet. However, after reading your directions I feel that I must give it a shot. We can’t afford a new headboard and it is for my son so I don’t want to put a lot of money into it. Wish me luck. I will let you know the outcome.
Cindi
I’ll be making a headboard for my son!!! These instructions are great!!! Wish me luck
The directions were great. I just made my own fabric covered headboard and it looks fantastic. Thanks for sharing your instructions.
I came across your blog and love the step by step directions and pictures! Now Im confident that I can pull this off.
I have one question, Did you use any foam with the batting? What was the thickness of the batting and / or foam?
I want to make a headboard for my Queen bed, but with a taller headboard, so can you tell me the thickness I should use? What about adding buttons? How do you do that?
Thanks!!!!
Peach: Sorry it took me so long to respond! I hope you’ve had success with your headboard if you’ve already attempted it. To answer your questions….
- I did NOT use any foam with the batting. I used high-loft quilting batting (the really thick stuff), and that has been sufficient. It’s comfortable to lean against while sitting up in bed reading a great book.
- Without having tried it myself, my best guess for adding buttons would be to 1.) measure carefully and mark on the fabric the outside edges of where the finished headboard would be, 2.) mark the location of each button based, 3.) hand-sew the buttons onto the fabric BEFORE you start attaching the fabric to the board.
Let me know how it turns out!