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DIY Upholstered Tufted Headboard Tutorial

While I was in Arizona, Savannah and I tackled a few projects! Of course! It’s pretty much our favorite thing to do when we are together! That and going out for sushi 😉 One project we really wanted to get done was her youngest daughter’s bed. Her (almost) two year old little angel was done with her baby crib and needed a big girl bed! Savannah knew exactly what she wanted but she was a little nervous to tackle it herself. It was definitely a two person job but turned out to be a really fun project!

Savannah had an adorable twin bed that she found at a local thrift store for a steal. Most people would look at it and think… “great lines, cute bed, I’ll paint it and it’ll be fantastic!” well… that would be true BUT Savannah wanted to take it one step further! She wanted a white girly bed with a soft lime green upholstery and some killer cute colorful buttons! Not a tall order or anything.. 😉
First, we made a template of where we wanted the upholstery.  We used butcher paper and taped it to the bed frame.
Then we measured and marked where we wanted the tufts and buttons to be.
Next, we drew straight lines from each point to get an idea of where the folds in the tufts would be.
Next, we removed the template from the headboard and I traced and marked the foam while Savannah painted the headboard a gorgeous creamy white!
I laid the butcher paper template on the foam (we used 2″ upholstery foam from the fabric store) and traced in with a sharpie. (Yes, a purple one!)
Then, we cut around the traced edge of the foam using a serrated knife. We also poked holes in the tuft markings.  (didn’t get a pic of this step! Sorry!)
Next, we re-taped the template to the bed, after the paint dried. Then, we drilled holes in the headboard using the template tuft markings as a guide.
Then, we made 17 fabric covered buttons for the tufting. They were so stinkin’ cute! Totally worth the sore thumbs! You can get these button kits at a fabric store. We got hers at JoAnn’s Fabrics.
Next, the upholstering began! We used spray adhesive to attach the 2″ foam piece to the headboard. Then we stapled a large piece of batting over the foam. We used a staple gun for the upholstery.
Then, we trimmed the excess batting and we used some clamps to hold the upholstery fabric in place so we could begin the tufting process.

TIP: Do you tufting before you staple. If you staple the fabric first, your tufting may look too tight. We wanted nice deep tufts so we did not want to pull the fabric tight until the very end!
We used a long upholstery needle and upholstery thread. Start from the back fo the headboard and feed your needle through to the front, through the fabric.  Attach the button and run the needle back through to the back of the headboard and staple the remaining thread securely to the back. Make sure to pull the needle really tight to get really deep tufts!
The back should look like this when you’re done with this step.
Next, we stapled the fabric to the headboard and trimmed the excess.
Lookin’ good! But we’ve got one more important step! Piping!
Finally, we started making our own piping so it would match the green fabric. We already knew how to make piping but if you need help, here is a great tutorial. Click here.
Then, hot glue your piping around the raw edges and TA-DA!!! DONE!

Here’s an up close picture of the piping and tufting…

We were so excited to tackle a project together since we haven’t been able to do that in about 6 months! BAH! Sad huh!? It couldn’t have turned out any better! We are a team and our team work always pays off! We both are in love with little Millie’s bed! Savannah is working her tail off to get the rest of Millie’s nursery turned into her big girl room! Tufted Headboard

Savannah even sewed her little girl’s bedding using an unheard of technique! I’m so anxious for her to post it! Ya’ll are going to love it! She is also making some adorable pillows to match the buttons for Millie’s bed!

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58 Comments

  2. I love everything about this project – what an awesome job! And thank you for sharing the details on how to tuft, I have a tufted chair I want to redo, and I’m pretty sure I can adapt what you did and give it a go 🙂

    Patty

    Reply

  3. Gorgeous! I love the colored buttons! One question? Could you have marked the tufting on the wood and then glued the foam and and drilled through the wood and foam at the same time? Just curious! thanks!

    Reply

  9. Such a fun, whimsical take on tufting. You girls did an AWESOME job!

    I tackled turning a coffee table into a tufted ottoman a while back and still love it!

    Would also love it if you stopped by for a visit!

    P.S. I’m your newest follower. ; )

    ~Abbie (www.fivedaysfiveways.com)

    Reply

  12. Girls! That is AMAZING!!! You have taken the fear out of tackling a project like this right out of me. Thanks for linking it up!
    Kelli

    Reply

  16. This headboard turned out BEAUTIFUL! You did an awesome job with the tutorial too!

    I’ve featured you on my blog. sunnyvanilla.blogspot.com

    Happily following you 🙂

    Reply

  17. That is adorably cute! I know both of my girls would still LOVE it & they’re 9 & 6… so you’ll get a lot of life out of it. I’m featuring it in the PoPP Spotlight this weekend. Thanks for linking up.

    Reply

  18. Hi Mallory and Savannah, I’ll be featuring your amazing, fun headboard at Project Queen tomorrow night. Thank you so much for linking up and sharing!

    Mandy

    Reply

  21. I love this! I have had this idea too, but haven’t found a headboard yet. I am so glad to see how it well it turned out. I love the fabric and colors you picked! Soo cute, great job!

    Reply

  32. Your headboard is beautiful, nice job! I have this linked to my headboards post as well today, for inspiration!

    Reply

  33. wow.. I love how it turned out! You’ve motivated to make one too.. 😀 Thanks for linking up at friday fun party and welcome to the party 🙂 I hope you will come back too! Have a great weekend..

    Reply

  45. WOW…you did an AMAZING job and what a great tutorial! Thanks for sharing! Hopped over from Furniture Feature Friday and I’m happy to be your newest follower. Would love to have you stop by for a visit. Blessings ~ Judy

    Reply

  49. It is so luck to see the article today, great article, great author. I learn something new on different post everyday. It is always refreshing to read posts of other forums and learn something from them.
    Upholstery

    Reply
  50. Pingback: DIY Headboards

  51. Hi Mallory and Savannah,

    I love this tufted headboard that you made. I would like to discuss with you the possibility of featuring it in an upcoming issue of my magazine.

    Thanks,
    Dianne

    Reply
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