Tufted Headboard- tutorial

Winter I took a home decor sewing class.  For our final project we had to make something for the bedroom.  Most of the girls in the class made a quit of some kind.  Due to the fact that I have about 15 blankets at the foot of our bed I decided I don't need another quilt or blanket or anything like it.  So I pulled out my creative skills did a little googling and decided I would make a tufted head board.  I quilted mine for the sake of my sewing class, but you can use a single fabric, sheet or quilt.  I love the way mine turned out.

Supplies:

A piece of ply-wood the width of your bed and I did 4ft high. 

Fabric, quilt, or blanket of your choice about 6 inches wider than the board.

(if you go to Home Depot you can buy a larger piece of wood and they can cut it there for free)

enough foam to cover the wood 1-2 inches thick

(foam is expensive. The cheapest place I could find it was from Wal Mart, but you can get nicer stuff at a fabric or craft store)

Because I use a 1in thick foam I had some extra batting I put over the foam to add more cushion

spray glue

a staple gun

drill

buttons of your choice. I used 13, but you can do more or less depending on the look you want

button/ upholstery thread ( doesn't matter the color. You won't see it.)

upholstery needle the longer the better.

Process:

Cut the foam to fit the wood. 

Tip: a bread knife works well... and electric bread knife works even better.

We had to piece the foam together... this is where the glue comes in.

Spray the wood with the spray glue. Then place the foam on the glue.

Put the quilt batting on the board and foam.

Then turn it over and staple it to the board. 

Make sure you pull it nice and tight, but don't rip the batting

We had to make sure the staples were further down because the fabric fits quite perfect...

Place your fabric, quilt, or blanket on the board now covered with foam and batting. 

Decide where you would like to put your buttons

Mark clearly where you will be drilling the holes for the buttons. 

When drilling be careful because the batting will get stuck in the drill bit... I am not sure what size we used, but the larger the easier it is the find the hole when you are putting on the buttons. 

Once you have drilled your holes turn the board over fabric side down and staple the fabric to the board. make sure to pull it tight. (sorry no picture for this step, but it is the same as putting on the batting.)

Trim the excess batting.

All finished (without the buttons)

Putting the buttons on was the hardest part for me partly because I was not using a long needle. That would have helped a TON! 

The best way I found to do the buttons was to figure out where the hole is on the back and then go around to the front with the needle with the thread through the button and then through the needle. 

Pulling it through is kind of a trial and error thing. Its a bunch of guessing. 

Once you have the tread through the whole pull the button as tight as you can. 

The tighter the buttons the more "tufted" it looks.

Then staple the thread down and pull it up the opposite direction and staple it again. 

If you are like me you will add two or three more staples just to make sure it does not move.

All done...

Simple and fairly inexpensive (about $50). 

 It can really bring personality to a bed your and give a nice cushion on the wall. 

disclaimer: I am not sure how my husband put it on the wall, but there are several different ways you can do it.

If you have any other questions leave a comment and I'd be happy to answer them!