Tutorial for Building a Beaded Headboard
Making a beaded headboard for a bed is simple and will add an element of funky style to your room. Beaded headboards are made in two basic ways: either you sew beads or bead strips to an upholstered headboard or you create a frame and string beads inside the frame. Both styles are easily made at home, and you don't have to be a professional upholsterer or a master woodworker. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Canvas frame
- Batting
- Scissors
- Fabric
- Staple gun
- Bead strips
- Pins
- Needle
- Thread
- Decorative molding
- Miter saw
- Glue
- Corner clamps
- Drill
- Screws
- Screw hooks, ¼-inch hooks
- Jewelry wire
- Beads, various sizes
- Beading pliers
Instructions
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Upholstered Beaded Headboard
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1
Purchase a canvas frame from an art or craft store in the size you want. Lay batting out flat, then place the frame over the top. Cut the batting around 4 inches larger than the frame.
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2
Stretch the batting up over the sides and onto the back of the frame and staple in place. Work from the center of each frame outward, alternating sides as you staple. Cut off any excess.
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3
Place the fabric, wrong side up, on a work surface and lay the frame, batting side down, on top. Stretch and staple the fabric to the frame in the same manner as you did the batting. Trim off any excess.
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4
Turn the headboard over. Arrange your bead strips on the headboard, pinning them in place. Beaded strips are pre-strung strips of beads and can be found at most craft stores, or you can use beaded lace strips as an alternative.
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5
Sew the beaded strips onto the headboard once they are all in position and you are happy with the design. Hang the headboard like a picture frame directly above the bed.
String Beaded Headboard
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6
Cut two lengths of molding as long as you want the headboard to be and two as wide. You can use a canvas frame for this if you want, but molding adds a decorative touch. Using a miter saw, miter the ends of each piece of molding to 45 degrees.
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7
Form the molding into a rectangular frame, with the mitered ends forming the corners. Glue and clamp the corners to form the frame; let dry. Drill a screw through each glued joint to secure the frame.
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8
Decide how far apart you want the bead strings, then drill parallel holes at this distance along the inside edge of the vertical frame. These holes should be wide enough to fit the hook of the hook screws inside and just deep enough so that the head is obscured. Screw the hooks inside these holes, so that from the front you can't see the hooks of the screws.
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9
Cut your jewelry wire to around 4 inches longer than the horizontal length of the headboard, then tie one end to the screw hook on one side of the headboard. String
your beads as you like, mixing and matching between larger and smaller, glass and wood---anything that takes your fancy. Tie off the other end in the parallel screw hook, making sure the wire is taut; you may need to use jewelry pliers.
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10
Repeat with remaining hooks until your entire frame is strung with beads. Hang the headboard above the bed like you would a picture frame.
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1
References
Resources
- Photo Credit beads image by Florence from Fotolia.com
