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upholstered headboard - tufting question

9 years ago

I've looked at dozens of tutorials and have decided to upholster a headboard. I love the look of tufting, so I've decided I will include this detail. I thought I carefully measured and bought lots of extra fabric (nearly twice what I thought I needed for a queen size headboard), but I still made an error I hope I can easily resolve.

I obviously don't want to piece my fabric, and while I have plenty of fabric width-wise to work with, I don't have a ton of extra for the height, aka "top to bottom" of my headboard.

I am confident I have enough fabric for the project, but my concern is how deep my tufting can be without using so much extra fabric that I don't have enough to wrap around the top and bottom of my board.

So here's my question. With the exception of one tutorial, all of the DIYers I've seen tuft their headboards have done so before securing their fabric to the back of the headboard. Would it be possible/reasonable to think that I could temporarily tack down the top and bottom fabric loosely so I know how much extra fabric I have to work with for the tufting? I say temporarily because I know once the tufting is complete I'll want to neatly secure the fabric to the back of the headboard.

I hope my question makes sense. In my mind, what I have suggested would work, but this is my first upholstery project and definitely the most ambitious DIY project I've attempted. I would hate to have to buy a different kind of fabric, not just because of the cost, but because this particular fabric goes so beautifully with our existing decor.

Thanks in advance for ideas or advice on this one!

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Comments (3)

Laurie
9 years ago
I've never done tufting (or a headboard), but have reupholstered chairs & sofas.

I think you could temporarily tack down the top & bottom so you see how much you have to work with. When I needed to temporarily tack, I did not press the nose of the staple gun firmly against the area to be tacked. That way, the staple did not go all the way in and it was easier to remove later on.

If it gains you some fabric, forgo tufting near the bottom of the headboard. Your pillows will be covering that part of the headboard anyway.

Post pics as you work on this. It would be fun to see!
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iCustomSofa
9 years ago
You can piece together fabric in your tufts, and no-one will ever know that its pieced. Most leather tufting is pieced many times, especially headboards and sofa's.
Headboards are easier to tuft in its not a solid piece of plywood, just build a frame and stretch a piece of heavy stiff fabric across to support the foam and button tufts. A button needle is essential for this method.
Whether its diamond or square tufts, it all starts the same. Determine the size tuft you want, draw straight horizontal and vertical lines, centered and space the distance evenly on headboard. At the intersection of each horizontal and vertical lines is where you want your buttons. If you use 1 1/2" to 2" foam, bore about 1" holes in these same locations. Take you fabric and draw on the back side the same horizontal and vertical lines, but add about 1 1/4" vertical and 1" horizontal. Again mark the intersections, this is where your buttons will be placed on the fabric. Go ahead and place all the buttons: string your buttons, using a button needle, pull through the holes and tie off on the back side. Then its just matter of folding in the folds from button to button and pulling over and stapling on the back side.
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Did you check Ballarddesigns.com? They have them and you can choose one of their fabrics. They may even let you supply your own fabric, not sure. I had a floral one made once. I had the fabric and I took it to an upholsterer and he made it the shape and style I wanted. The shape of mine was kind of simple, but I had the fabric ruched across the top and sides with solid piping and then the fabric was set flat across the front, no tufts.
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freethinker99
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Tufting your own headbaord! Bravo. Show us some pictures when you finish.

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