How to Make Black Tufted Headboards

You can make black tufted headboards at home.

A black tufted headboard can make a bedroom feel elegant. Make it with black upholstery silk embossed with a reflective design and pair it with luxurious bedding in cream and gold for a sophisticated look; fashion the headboard from black velvet and pair it with pink and silver bedding for an older tween's princess-themed bedroom. Learn how to make black tufted headboards with inexpensive materials you can find at hardware stores and fabric outlets.

Things You'll Need

• Plywood pre-cut to the size and shape of your headboard
• Drill
• Spray adhesive
• 2-inch thick upholstery foam
• Bread knife
• Cotton or polyester batting
• Staple gun
• Black upholstery fabric
• Button covering kit
• Buttons
• Long upholstery needle
• Strong upholstery-grade thread

Instructions

1. Mark the locations of the tufted buttons on a pre-cut sheet of plywood with a ruler. Space them evenly to create a professional look.

2. Drill 1/8-inch-wide holes through the plywood at the positions you marked for the buttons.

3. Spray adhesive on one side of the plywood.

4. Place upholstery foam on the plywood to adhere it.

5. Trim any overhanging foam with a bread knife.

6. Spread batting on the floor. Place the headboard foam-side down on top of the batting, centering it so that the batting overhangs each side of the plywood by at least 7 inches.

7. Wrap the batting around the edge of the plywood and staple it in place. Start by placing one staple through the batting along the long end of the plywood. Pull the batting taut and place another staple through the batting on the opposite side. Next, place a staple through the batting on the short side of the plywood. Pull the batting taut and place another staple opposite it. Continue to add staples in this manner until the entire headboard is securely covered with the batting.

8. Place the black upholstery fabric with its right side face-down on the floor. Center the batting side of the headboard on the fabric. Wrap the upholstery fabric around the batting and staple it into place using the same method as you did with the cotton batting.

9. Cover the buttons with black upholstery fabric according to the instructions on your button-covering kit. Normally, you wrap small pieces of fabric around the buttons and use the tools provided in the kit to secure the fabric in place.

10. Thread an upholstery needle with upholstery-weight thread. Pull the thread through the needle so you have a double length of thread.

11. Push the threaded needle through a hole on the back of the plywood until the needle shows through the other side. Do not pull the thread all the way through the headboard. Thread the button onto the needle. Push the needle back through the headboard to attach the button, creating a tuft on the front of the headboard.

12. Staple both ends of the upholstery thread into place securely on the back of the headboard. Use several staples, wrapping the thread around them until the button is secure. Repeat this process until you have completed all the tufts.

Tips & Warnings

• Lumberyards will often cut plywood to the size you need for little or no cost.

References

• Apartment Therapy: How To: DIY Tufted Headboard
• Mabel and Violet: How to DIY a Tufted Headboard
• Shelterpop: 5 Dreamy Headboards You Can Make Yourself
• Apartment Therapy: Make This! Big and Bold Tufted Headboard

Resources

• Apartment Therapy: Kitty and Oliver's Handmade Tufted Headboard
• Apartment Therapy: Velvet Tufted Headboards