Tufting... Not So Tough!

A few months ago when Brennan moved into his new room, he left behind his baby nursery in all of its splendor. Here are some photos of what the room looked like when we lived in Dallas:

(It's too bad the obnoxious mobile ruins the serenity of the room!)

I hated to lose the decor completely for three reasons: 1) I hope to someday use it again for another baby, 2) The chair and ottoman don't match anything else in the house, and 3) I made everything for that room including curtains, bedding, wall decor, etc., so it has sentimental value.

Now we are in a rental in Nashville, and Brennan has moved on to a big boy room, leaving this a guest room. My challenge has been amping up baby decor so that it isn't at all babyish, while conserving the budget, since we don't know how long this will stay a guest room. I already had white bedding, so I just needed a headboard that would work temporarily on the cheap.

I have made fabric-covered canvas headboards before, but they were too blah and uptight for my taste. The trick, I felt, was tufting. I have been wanting to tuft this headboard for a while, but I hadn't gotten around to it until a post on A Soft Place to Land gave me a kick in the pants.

So, for anyone who might want to try this, here is a tutorial:
To make a tufted headboard out of painter's canvas, you just need the canvas(es), batting, fabric, buttons that you can cover, a staple gun and staples, some heavy-duty thread, a sharp, strong needle, and some assorted buttons to use on the back.

The first thing you need to do is get your canvas. If you want to do a large headboard, you can buy multiple canvases and staple or nail them together. No one will ever know under all of the batting and fabric. I found this canvas that was exactly the size I needed for a twin bed.

Next, cut your batting big enough to wrap around and staple to the frame of the canvas. Use more batting than you think you'll need. (I've learned this the hard way and have had to remove fabric to put on more batting!)

After your batting is on, do the same thing with the fabric. Be sure to pull it taut in every direction. Neatness (at least from the front) counts!

When your fabric and batting are on, you can begin using buttons. You can buy kits for covering your own buttons at fabric and craft stores (I got mine at JoAnn), and they aren't nearly as hard to use as I feared.

Use this technique for pulling your buttons through.

Be aware that the center bar on the canvas may make things a little challenging when placing your buttons. When I measured, the center bar on my canvas was a little off center, which was a good thing. Just keep this in mind when choosing your button pattern.

I had my husband push on the buttons on both sides for me while I knotted so that I got maximum tufting.

Voila! A lovely, inexpensive, tufted headboard. The best part is that it is lightweight enough to hang yourself, and there is a built-in frame which keeps you from having to drill major holes in your wall.

If you decide to try this for yourself, I'd love to know about it!! In the mean time, I've got a comfortable guest room here if you need a place to stay in Nashville!