Fabric Headboard Instructions

You can make a fabric headboard with a few tools.

A fabric headboard is a modern touch that can turn your bed into a focal point of the bedroom, and add extra style with minimal effort. Making a fabric headboard at home is a cost-effective alternative to purchasing one readymade in a store, where upholstered headboards can be expensive. With some basic materials and tools, and a bit of know-how, you can build a fabric headboard in no time.

Things You'll Need

• Measuring tape
• Canvas stretching boards, 4
• Cotton batting
• Staple gun
• Scissors
• Chenille fabric
• Hammer
• Nails

Instructions

1. Measure the width of the bed that the headboard will go behind. This will determine the size of the boards you use.

2. Purchase four canvas stretching boards from an art supply store. Canvas stretching boards are wooden boards that snap into one another to make a wooden frame. Two of these boards should match the width of your bed. Two should be about 3 feet long. Snap these four boards together to make a frame for the headboard.

3. Lay a piece of cotton batting over the frame, and wrap the edges of the batting around the frame. Attach the batting to the back side of the frame with a staple gun, and cut away any excess batting with a pair of scissors.

4. Drape a piece of chenille fabric over the batting and wrap the edges of the fabric over the back of the frame, folding as if you were wrapping a present. Attach the chenille to the back of the frame with a staple gun and cut off any excess fabric.

5. Hammer four nails into the wall where the bed will go, making the nails about 2 feet above the height of the bed. Hang the headboard from the nails and push the bed up against the wall.

Tips & Warnings

• Choose a fabric that matches the decorative accents in your bedroom.

• Make sure to use enough staples to keep the batting and fabric from shifting.