headboard

pops

I am about to make a headboard for my bed in the same fabric as the curtains, however as I have never done this before I don't know where to start. Any advice?

looksee

First you have to decide whether your bedhead will fit on the wall or slot onto the bed base. The second one is the easiest. If you have an old, plain bedhead (more or less rectangular) that you can cover, thats the easiest approach. If not you will need a rectangle of ply or mdf at least 9mm thick. Use a rasp or coarse sandpaper over a block to just rub the sharp corners off. You will have to cut two bars from softwood, drill and cut slots in them and screw or bolt firmly to the bedhead. Look at an existing headboard to see how they work.

Next you will need a piece of fire-retardant foam which you can buy from somewhere that does upholstery. The lightest grade will do, minimum 50mm thick, a bit thicker would look better. Same size as bed head +5mm on each side.(so if headboard is say 90cm x 60cm foam will be 91 x 61)

There are various ways of doing the next stage, and if you want to do a really professional job you should really go to your local library and get a book on basic upholstery. Failing that, procede as follows. You will need a staple gun and some pva adhesive.

Cut a piece of fabric about 15 cm bigger than bedhead all round. Lay your fabric on the floor, right side down. Spread a squiggle of glue on the front of the bedhead (the opposite side to the support struts). Place foam on glue, line up carefully. Put whole lot foam side down on back of fabric, centered. Note the bit above about rounding the corners slightly.

Now this is the important bit. Kneel in the middle of the board, this will squash the foam, which should overflow very slightly round the edges. Fold the fabric from the top edge of the bedhead onto the back of the board. Just fold it smoothly and firmly but dont pull it. Put a row of staples quite close together about a couple of centimetres down from the edge, through the material. Get up, turn round and kneel the opposite way, try not to disturb the fabric, repeat the operation along the bottom edge. You will have to fold in the parts where the struts are. Then do the two sides in the same way, folding the corners in neatly. Doing it like this should produce a smooth finish with nicely rounded edges.

If you have someone to help you get them to hold the whole thing still and down while you are turning round.

If you wish you could glue or staple some braid on the edge. Put a few more staples in to tidy the spare fabric on the back. If the fabric is light it would be a good idea to do it first with lining fabric then put the finishing fabric on. Just do the same operation twice. Hope this is useful.