DIY Affordable Tufted Headboard!

Alexa Katherine
by Alexa Katherine
9 Materials
I fell in love with this tufted style headboard, I saw in stores until I saw that the price was $400 dollars! Thanks but no thanks, I can make it myself. I want the headboard to be lightweight so I would feel safe with mounting the headboard to my wall. This whole headboard costed me $26 dollars! You can’t beat that AND its customized by you!
First you, you will need 6+ Pieces of poster board I purchased mine from Dollar Tree. Depending on what size your bed is will determine how big your headboard will be. Since the poster board is 20×30, we will be using the 30 inches for the height.


Twin – 39 inches


Full- 54 inches


Queen – 60 inches


King – 76 inches
My bed is a full bed, so these measurements might not work if you are looking to do a headboard for a queen or king. However, I just made a Queen size headboard for my sister-in-law and I will write at each step, how I figured out those measurements.
If you are doing a Full size headboard then you will want to cut 1 poster board to be 14×30, 2 poster boards to be 17×30 and 3 poster boards to leave alone because they are the exact size we are looking for. You will want to lie them out just as shown, having it go 17 by 20 by 12 and on the opposite side 20 by 14 by 20. The reason why we want to double up the poster board and have a lip is to make sure it is sturdy to hold up the the fabric but light enough to be able to hang it on the wall. Also, it only poster board so it will never hurt if you bump your head off it.
Now, if you are doing a queen bed, find the middle of the poster board. The middle of the poster board, if you were using 20×30 would be 10, so you will placing two board and meeting edge to edge in the middle of the bottom poster. Then you will be gluing boards together over and over until you reach 60 inches. If this doesn’t make sense let me know, I am a visual learner myself. If you need help with a queen, message me and I will make a video to show you how to make a queen size headboard.
Then you will glue the 3 boards on top of the other 3 boards. I would recommend a heavy duty glue gun, which you can purchase at any craft store and have plenty of glue sticks on hand.
After the measurement are complete, you will want to move on to batting. I used quilting batting, which I purchased from Walmart. You could also use foam from the fabric store. I layered the quilting batting twice.
Once you have it cut out to the proper size of the head board you will want to flip everything over. Start gluing the batting on to the back of the head board. I recommend using an oven mitten, in order to press down the batting into the glue. Don’t burn yourself with hot glue, its no fun!
Pick out your fabric, you will need 1.5 yards. This is where you can make it personal and pick any kind of fabric you like. You will want to pull the fabric tightly to ensure there are no bumps or wrinkles in the front. Then simple glue the fabric to the back of the headboard. When reaching the corners you will want to fold the fabric as if you are wrapping a gift and glue everything down.
You can use any buttons you want! I got sent a picture of a headboard someone made and she used crystal buttons which looked beautiful. Then more button the better it looks. I used the fabric covering buttons, which you can purchase as any craft or fabric store.
You will want to measure out your heard board and figure out the placement of buttons on the back of the headboard. It will be different for everyone depending on your size of headboard and the amount of buttons you use. To attach the buttons I used upholstery thread and a large needle. You will want to pull the thread in back tightly and tie a knot, in order to have that tufted look.
There will be a lot of layers on the back of the heard board, so you will want to make a mount. I used small cutouts, glued, and layered them on top of each other.
Then just use command strips and place it on the wall! Enjoy your hard work. People have asked me has this headboard lasted. Well, I made the headboard back in 2014! I have moved twice and this is what the headboard currently looks like.
Almost 3 years later, two moves, and still in great condition!
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Frequently asked questions
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3 of 20 questions
  • Renz Renz on Sep 25, 2019

    Can U lean on this or will it fall off the wall ?

  • Maria Reyes Maria Reyes on Nov 20, 2019

    I am a visual learner so I will appreciate very much if you can post a video for a queen headboard. Thanks

  • Jennifer Jennifer on Aug 23, 2020

    This looks really nice!! Definitely going to try, thank you.

    ...and LOVE the white dress in the background!!! Did you make that too?

Comments
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2 of 84 comments
  • Krafty Kathy Krafty Kathy on Jan 22, 2023

    Great Idea to use foamcore poster boards. At Home Depot you can get big styrofoam insulation boards if you wanted one solid piece.

  • Cynthia arroyo Cynthia arroyo on May 08, 2023

    Love this idea! I especially enjoyed the tip about using oven mitt with hot glue gun! I've burned myself before too, I will remember! Nice job!




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