I used and old denim comforter to make my son a headboard for his college apartment. This took about 2 hours to make, and a great husband to help! You will need a partner, as this requires 4 hands to help hold fabric in place and pull tight. So lets get started with supplies!
I purchased a foam mattress pad that would fit the size headboard I was making. I was making a double headboard and it is approx. 54-56 inches wide. You can make it whatever height you like. I did about 36 inches.
I took an old denim twin size comforter to cover the headboard. The best part of using a comforter or a quilt, is it's usually already quilted or stitched with a nice pattern, so the headboard will have some style to it, and will already have all the additional padding to make it extra soft.
I also purchased a Porter Cable Electric Staple gun. This runs with a compressor. I thought this would make attaching the fabric and padding easier. ...Well...
After hearing the loud compressor, and realizing the staple gun was very powerful and too touch sensitive for me, I went back to Home Depot and bought a PowerShot Pro! Costs about $20. This was a hit! It's also very touch sensitive, but does not require a compressor, so it's more portable. This is a great little DIY tool to have.
Now it's time to layout your foam mattress pad.
Cut the foam to fit the plywood. Leave 2-3 inches for the edges to be wrapped and stapled. No need for glue gun, the staples do all the work.
side tight and staple that side. This is where the extra pair of hands comes in handy. Now let's do the corners.
The corners are EASY! Cut a square, or a notch out. Then staple one edge down then wrap the other right over it.
Next layout the comforter over the board to see where you want the fabric to lay on the front and where you will cut the comforter basically in half. Mine has a nice center seam, so I'll keep that centered on the front.
Now you can cut the comforter, and start wrapping it like a present then staple in place. Remember to leave 2-3 inches extra to wrap the edges around.
I took the cut edges and rolled them under to smooth out the raw edge and hide the comforters batting, then just stapled it down.
CORNERS: Repeat the same technique you did for the foam pad. Cut out a square and fold over, then staple.
Ok STOP! Here's where those extra hands made all the difference! My husband used his drill to screw down the corners instead of my staples, as you can see, it not only looks better, but is more secure.
Ok STOP! Here's where those extra hands made all the difference! My husband used his drill to screw down the corners instead of my staples, as you can see, it not only looks better, but is more secure.
Here is the finished back of the headboard. Because I used a thick comforter it has a nice rolled edge and is very thick and padded.
****To attach to the wall I wanted to use D rings to hang right to the wall like a picture, then on move in day we saw my son has a giant window right where his bed goes, so we attached a single 2x4 cut in half, and drilled one on each side to make legs so it could stand on its own.
Sweet Dreams!
