How to Upholster a No-Sew Headboard

Update your bedroom with a upholstered headboard without bringing out the sewing machine.

By Erinn Valencich, ErinnV.com
Filed under: Headboard, Fabrics, No Sew, How To, Bedrooms

Materials Needed:

decorative fabric (about 2-1/2 yards for queen, 3 yards for king)
backing fabric (about 2-1/2 yards for queen, 3 yards for king)
upholstery webbing
felt padding
webbing pull
staple gun and upholstery staples
polyester fiber
foam and fabric spray adhesive
upholstery tack strips

yardstick
hammer
2x4 wood boards
4x4 wood post
radial arm saw
wood stain
wood screws
electric screwdriver
decorative nail head trim

Construct Wooden Frame

Determine necessary size of headboard frame, which is dependent on mattress size (queen-size headboards are approximately 64x50 inches tall, kings are 80x50 inches tall). Next, determine how tall and thick you want the headboard — our headboard is 50x4 inches with 10-inch tall legs made from a 4x4 post. Cut 2x4 wood boards to size for constructing the size headboard you need. Add two vertical supports every 24 inches or evenly spaced across the headboard. Place two horizontal supports on each side of the headboard, and one horizontal support in the middle. Cut two 4x4 wood posts to the preferred leg height then attach them to the bottom of the frame with wood screws. Stain the legs to your color preference; we used a satin-finish espresso stain.

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Cut Upholstery Webbing

Cut six strips of webbing allowing for three strips to be placed one foot apart horizontally and three strips to be placed one foot apart vertically.

Staple Webbing

Starting at the top left corner of the headboard, staple one end of webbing to the upper-left corner of the headboard horizontally. Use a webbing pull to pull the webbing tight to the opposite side of the headboard and staple to frame.