How to Make a Fabric Headboard

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Add a chic, expensive look to your bedroom with a DIY upholstered headboard. Premade headboards can be very expensive and are typically made from low-quality materials. DIYing your own headboard means you can use high-quality materials for a luxe look on a DIY budget! This is a no-sew project anyone can do. Watch our quick tutorial to see how to make your own channeled headboard.

Materials List:

1/2-inch-thick plywood — dimensions will depend on bed size. For a queen, our board measures 35 x 64 inches.
Upholstery fabric of choice — yardage will depend on bed size. For a queen, we used 4 yards of Crypton® Home Lush Moss 54” Fabric #123424
5 yards 1/2” Polyester Batting 55” #124305
3-inch-thick CushionRite® Standard Antimicrobial Foam (Medium) 48” x 80” #124231
CushionRite® Foam & Fabric Spray Adhesive 16.9 oz. #125476
21 Gauge 3/8” (10mm) Staples 10,000/Box (Galvanized) #8010GZ
Marker
Mounting hardware of choice

Tools List:

Sailrite® Long Nose Upholstery Staple Gun #121411
Sailrite® Blade Foam Saw #121244
Fabric scissors
Measuring guide
Soft tape measure

Don’t let the size of this project intimidate you. It’s very beginner friendly and does not require any sewing. In fact, this easy DIY headboard project takes only a handful of materials and tools. You can easily make this velvet headboard in an afternoon.

For our headboard project, we chose a gorgeous velvet upholstery fabric from Crypton®. Crypton fabrics deliver a high-end look at a price friendly to DIYers. You can use any upholstery fabric you’d like for this headboard project. If you choose a fabric with a pattern, just be aware of the pattern repeat if you want your channeled panels to all look the same.

Deciding what foam to use for your headboard is a personal choice. We wanted a headboard with enough padding that it could function as a comfortable, cushioned surface to rest against while reading in bed or watching TV. So we chose 3"-thick CushionRite Standard Foam. This thickness gave enough cushioning and padding that our headboard doubles as a comfortable backrest. Adding a layer of 1/2" batting between the foam and fabric added extra plumpness and helped give our channeled panels a nice, rounded appearance.

Ready to make a fabric headboard that will elevate the look and style of your bedroom? Watch our short tutorial video and learn how to make a high-quality headboard. You’ll find the complete materials and tools lists included.

Did you enjoy making a DIY fabric headboard? There are many other fun and easy DIY projects on the Sailrite website. Under the “LEARN” tab at the top of the page, you can sort by Hobby Project, Home Projects, Leather Projects and more. Sailrite is not only your source for fabric and sewing supplies but also the best free educational and how-to content available anywhere. What will you make next?