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Framed Tufted Headboard (made from dresser mirror)

 

When we moved into our new home, we finally had enough space to have a girl room and a boy room.  And since my little girl is 5 and my little guy is 3 (4 next week), we felt it was time to separate them.  (Though, that was a really hard adjustment for them at first.  They LOVED sharing a room and really missed each other for the first few days.  Now, they love having the separation of a “boy” and “girl” room.  Funny kids!)  We found a really great bed for our little dude at a furniture store that was discontinued and clearanced out.  We couldn’t resist, so we snatched it up.  For my little girl, I couldn’t justify a whole bedroom set and all that matching headboard stuff.  Nope, just couldn’t stomach (or afford) it.  And I don’t really want everything to match anyway.  So, I had my eyes peeled for a good deal. 

 

When in another furniture store a while later, I found a pile of old dresser mirrors back in the clearance section of the store.  The glass must have broken in all of them……so they put the wooden part of the mirrors back in clearance.  I noticed that they were all marked down to about $10……so I just stood there and stared at them.  My husband came up behind me and asked why I was staring at mirror-less mirror frames.  I told him I didn’t know yet.  That’s when it hit me.  I was totally going to use it as a headboard……and add tufting to that center section where the mirror was.  Sold.

 

 

 

 

 

See that old frame?  Not so pretty at first.  But it turned into such a nice transformation for my little girl’s room.

 

 

 

 

With a little spray paint and some tufting magic, I made a great little headboard for much less than those dang headboards at the furniture store. 

 

 

 

She kinda loves having a girl room now.  And LOVES purple.  (But depending on what day you ask her, pink sometimes ties for first.)

 

 

 

See those Cover Buttons?  Don’t they add great charm to a headboard?  They’re for sale all over the place right now, and it’s no wonder.

 

 

 

Do you want to see her “surprised/happy to see her new headboard” face? 

 

 

 Ha….okay, not really.  This headboard is a week or so old, so the excitement has worn off.  I just asked her if she was excited to go the lake this weekend. :)

 

 

 

P.S… If you love the fabric of this duvet cover, I didn’t make it.  But once I saw it here at Ikea, I had to get it for my purple-loving daughter.  So there’s not actual fabric for sale (not that I know of)…..but this duvet cover was only $20.  Cheaper than I could have made it with a cute designer print.

 

Do you have an old dresser mirror that you are either tired of or the mirror has broken? 

Well, check out the size and see if it will work as a headboard.  But if not, buy a piece of thin wood or press board (you don’t want anything too heavy or it will be hard to secure against the wall.  And follow this same tutorial to make a plain tufted headboard.

 

 

For this tutorial, I’ll show the process to make the tufted headboard using an old mirror as the frame around the tufted section.  But remember, you can adjust this and make one without the old mirror.

 

First, I took that backing piece of wood out (which used to hold the mirror in place) and and spray painted the frame with white spray paint.  While that was drying, I used that backing piece of wood as my base for the tufted section of the headboard.

HINT: If you’re spray painting (rather than paint and a brush), spray even and long lines of paint, moving the can slowly across your project.  And don’t hold the can too close.  When you start spraying, don’t start right on the wood either.  Begin spraying off the wood then slowly move the can over the wood, spray all the way across and don’t let go of the nozzle until after you go off the wood again.  Repeat until the entire project is evenly covered.  This will help with drips and uneven lines of paint.  Works wonders!

 

Then,  I drilled 2 rows of 4 holes across (because after setting it at the head of my daughter’s twin bed, that’s about how much would show).  You will have to measure and maybe make some temporary dots to see if that’s where you want your tufted buttons to go.  Don’t skip the measuring, you don’t want it to look wonky. :)

 

Then, I placed 2 layers of thick quilt batting on top of the wood piece, and trimmed it down until it was about 1 inch smaller aling all edges.  (I did this so that the edges wouldn’t be too thick when attaching it back to the mirror and screwing it in place.)

 

To keep the batting in place, I clothes-pinned the edges to the wood.

 

Then I placed a large piece of fabric over the batting and wood, about 3-4 inches wider on all sides.  Then I folded the edges over and pinned them in place.

 

Next, I covered 8 Cover Buttons (just like shown here) in the same fabric.

 

Now, you’ll need some supplies.  Some upholstery thread (which is thick and super strong) and some large flat washers.

 

Next, thread our needle with your upholstery thread and wrap the end through and around the washer a few times, then knot in place.

 

Then, starting from the back, poke your needle through to the front.  Pull all the way through until the washer sits right against the wood.

 

Then from the front, thread the needle through one of the Cover Buttons and then poke the needle back through the fabric.  But not exactly through the same spot you poked it through, skip a little of the fabric so the thread will have something to hold onto after you pull it through.  Then continue to push the needle through, trying to make it through the hole in the wood.

 

Once you pull it through to the back again, keep the thread really tight as you loop the needle through the washer a few times and then knot the thread in place.  NOTE: You have to keep the thread pulled tight so that it’s a nice tufted look from the other side.  So keep it tight and hold a finger on the thread at all times, as you are looping the thread through the washer a few times.

 

Repeat with all of your holes and Cover Buttons.

 

Until all your buttons are nice and tightly tufted.  (Now don’t kill yourself, it doesn’t have to be crazy tight.  Just enough to dimple the batting and fabric sufficiently.)

 

Then turn your board back over and start pulling the edges of the fabric tight as you hot glue them to the back of the wood.  Do one side at a time and fold over your corners so they’re nice and crisp. Then hot glue the washers flat so that they won’t rub on your wall.

 

Then re-attach the wood to the frame (that has dried from painting it), the same way you removed it.  Mine was screwed on, so I replaced each screw around all the edges.  (Be sure your tufted section is straight from the front before screwing it in.

 

Now, if the headboard would have been the exact width as the metal bed frame, I could have screwed this headboard right to the bed frame.  But the headboard is too wide.  So to be sure that the headboard didn’t go anywhere, I attached picture frame hooks to the back of the headboard, right along the top.  Any type would work, I just had these on hand…..so I hammered them in.  Then I was able to anchor the top of the headboard to the wall with these hooks and then I pushed the bed up against the bottom half to keep it against the wall as well. Works great.

 

 

All done. 

 

And loving it!

 

 

 

 

 

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Ashley Johnston

Administrator at Make It & Love It
Ashley Johnston is a professional DIY costume maker, sewist, crafter, and owner of Make It & Love It. She is a mom of 5 and a wife to a very patient (with the craft clutter) husband. In case you’re wondering, she always chooses crafting/sewing/designing over mopping/dusting/wiping base boards……but bathrooms/laundry/full bellies are always attended to. Whew!

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Hi, I'm Ashley

Hi, I’m Ashley—the DIY-enthusiast behind this crazy blog!

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