What Kind of Fabric For Headboard Covering (How To Make)
One of the many decisions we have in life is whether or not to get a headboard with your bed. The right headboard can make a room look good. One with bad fabric can also ruin that room’s look.
What kind of fabric for headboard covering: Believe it or not, you do have lots of choices available to you when considering which fabric to put on a headboard. You can choose leather (stain-resistant), vinyl (accepts no stains), or upholstery fabric (which is always good).
To learn more about which fabric is best for your headboard just continue to read our article. Inside its content, you will realize that everyone has their own opinion about which fabric is best but you should walk away with some good inspiration and ideas.
Headboard Covering Fabric 101
What Type of Fabric for Headboard
No matter what you do in the sewing world, everyone has an opinion and different idea about what is best. In this case, some people choose vinyl as the best because it doesn’t get stained and it is easy to clean.
But vinyl doesn’t always look good so other people think leather is the best material for a headboard. But that material can be expensive especially if it gets torn and needs replacing.
Your best bet is upholstery fabric. It is tough, comes in many colors and designs, and can be pre-treated to resist stains as well as discolorization.
What is the Best Fabric for a Headboard?
We like leather as that fabric has a distinct appeal. It also says a lot about you as a person. But the problem is that replacing it when it gets damaged or faded by the sun can cost you a lot.
There is thin printed cotton but that is not durable and it will be faded by the sun. We like upholstery as it is durable, tough, and can handle heavy treatment. But the best fabric is the one you like best and fits in with the color scheme of your bedroom.
Just make sure it is durable and can last a long time.
Best Fabric for a Tufted Headboard?
If Amazon had any say the people there may favor a polyester fabric. The tufted headboards we saw were covered with that option. If you do not like polyester you could go with drapery panels instead.
But the fabric you should use needs to have the following characteristics: Durability, able to be cleaned easily, resists stains, and look good all at the same time. There is a lot of leeways here as to what fabric is the best.
If we had a choice we would go with leather as the best as it is just the top style of them all.
How do You Make a Fabric Bed Headboard?
This can be a long process but with the right decisions, you can make a good fabric headboard. The first key is in picking the right wood material. Some go with real wood while others go with MDF wood.
Just make sure the wood can handle the design you want. Next, you need to pick the right foam and a mattress pad will be a good choice. Then go with a durable fabric that fits your color scheme.
After you cut the wood to your design use your staple gun to secure the foam and fabric to your headboard. For specific instructions click here.
Easy Upholstered Headboard
One of the easiest ways to make a fabric headboard is to eliminate any real creative design from the project. All you need is a piece of plywood that matches the dimensions you need. Lay it down and get ready to glue the foam in place.
Cut the foam and batting to the size of the headboard, with the batting being just a bit larger than the plywood. Using a good adhesive glue the foam to the plywood, then center the batting on top of the foam.
After that flip the headboard over with the batting in the right place and staple it to the plywood. Flip it back and repeat it with your fabric. Then when it is in place, staple the fabric to the plywood.
Add some trim and secure the headboard to the wall.
How to Measure Fabric for Headboard
First off, the amount of fabric you will need depends on the style of your headboard, its dimensions, and if it is going to be tufted or not. Secondly, there is no standard width for headboards but they generally go past the mattress by 2 or 3 inches.
Next, you need to measure the total length you need and then divide by 36 to get how many yards you will need. If it is not exactly round up so you do not have any hassles at the fabric store.
How Much Fabric for King Headboard
The equation for this measurement is fairly long but in the end, you should end up needing about 4 yards of material. You measure the width first, then double it and add 10 inches. Measure the length, double the result, and add 10 inches.
Next, you divide the width figure by the width of the fabric and round up the results. Then multiply the result by the cut length measurement and add 10%. next you divide that total by 36 to get the actual yardage you will need.
Here is the equation 92 cw divided by 54 fw = 2 (rounded up) x 58 cl = 116+ 10% or 11 inches + 127 divided by 36 = 3.6 yards and round up to 4 yards.
How Much Fabric for Queen Headboard
You can follow the above equation to help you find how much fabric you need for a queen’s sized headboard. Just plug in the smaller numbers to get the accurate yardage figure. The 10% figure remains the same.
The equation is for a standard headboard without a lot of creative intricate details. Each headboard will have its own little nuances so adjust the figures as you go. An educated guess would be about 3 to 3.5 yards of fabric will be needed.
How Many Yards of Fabric for a Double Headboard
Since twin and double bed sizes do not really have a one size fits all measurement, you may find that the double beds in your home come out with different width measurements.
That is okay as all you need to do is use those different figures independently and work the calculation twice instead of once. The different figures you would need would be 54 inches +3 to 6 inches for headboard width and 48 for the standard height for headboards.
Then follow the equation above in the king-size section.
How do You Cover An Existing Headboard?
This is not that hard. The first step is to remove it from the wall or detach it from your bed. Next, you need to decide how thick you want the headboard and buy foam in that thickness.
Once you have done that, cut it to size, tracing the headboards shape onto the foam if there is any creative design to it. Next, cut your batting making it a little longer so you can staple it to the back of the headboard. Do that and you are now ready to add your fabric.
Cover the batting with the exterior fabric and staple it to the back of the headboard as well, then reattach the piece to your wall or bed.
What is a Pillow Stop On a Headboard?
This is a simple piece of wood that is covered by the fabric. Its purpose is to fit in the gap between your bed and headboard to stop your pillow from falling through the crack and land on the floor.
Once in place, the pillow stop hides the gap letting your bed look even better than it did before you put that piece in place. There is no creativity or innovation needed when you opt to have a pillow stop installed.
How to Make a Fabric Headboard Without Wood
Everything to make a headboard without wood is the same except you are substituting cardboard for the wood. You will need to cut the cardboard to size, then the foam as well. The batting will need to be a little bit larger to fold over the edges.
Lay the fabric down first, right side down, then the batting, and then the foam on top of those two. The last piece to go down is cardboard. Start with the batting and fold it over the cardboard and staple it. Then repeat the process with the fabric.
It is okay to use duct tape to cover the staples if you think they will not hold or stay in place.
How do You Attach a Fabric Headboard to The Wall
The easiest way is just to use your box spring, frame, and mattress and hold the headboard against the wall. This may cause you some trouble if you toss and turn all night and screwing your headboard to your frame is the way to stop any accidents from happening.
The next simplest way would be to find the studs in the wall and mark them off. Next measure the marks and place corresponding marks on your headboard. Then drill some pilot holes with a small drill bit and add a little indentation so the screw head is flush to the headboard by using a wood drill bit.
Place your headboard so its holes line up with the stud marks and drill the screws into the studs. You can use plugs to cover the screw heads.
Are Floor Standing Headboards Better?
This will be up to your preference and what your lease says if you rent your home or apartment. Some landlords do not allow for their walls to be drilled into even for headboards.
In that case, a floor standing headboard would be better. Which one you use will also depend if you like to rearrange your room from time to time. Wall-mounted headboards can’t be moved very easily so again floor standing headboards would be better.
Fabric Headboard vs Wood
Again this is up to your preference and the decor your room has. A good wood headboard accents a room very well and can complement any decor you have. Wood is very versatile but it is also very hard.
You may want to go with a fabric headboard even though its fashion contribution is quite limited. It is softer and helps absorb any noise that comes into the room. Then if you like to have books and other needed items near your bed and within easy reach, then a wood floor standing headboard would be best.
Which one is better is up to you, how you live, and what you like to see in your bedroom.
Do Fabric Headboards Collect Dust?
Everything collects dust. There is no real way to escape that situation especially if your headboard does not move very often. The good thing is that if you use the right fabric or go with a wood headboard, the dust is easy to clean off.
Just use the right cleaner and a good dust rag to wipe away the dust. Keep in mind some fabrics are harder to wipe the dust away than others. So consider this situation when you are contemplating adding a headboard to your bedroom.
There is no real preventive method you can do to keep this situation from taking place.
Are Fabric Headboards Hard to Keep Clean?
Some are and some are not. Leather, vinyl, and upholstery fabrics may be the easiest ones to keep clean. They can be stain-resistant and very durable. They take a lot and still keep on looking good.
Wood would rival those fabrics for cleanliness. It is also hard to stain but with wood, you run the chance of breaking or cracking a piece. Then you are looking at some repair work not a cleaning task.
If you use your head and have the right cleaning supplies, there should not be a problem in keeping your headboards clean. Just plan ahead and think about the activities you do in bed and pick the right stain-resistant fabric to make sure you do not have to replace the fabric anytime soon.
Are Fabric Headboards in Style?
Considering all the ads and reviews are on the internet it is safe to safe that you would not be out of style if you chose a fabric headboard to decorate your bedroom. A close competitor would be wood as wood always looks good and fits into an unlimited amount of interior decors.
Metal is not much of a threat and does not look as good as either fabric or wood. It is also safe to say that both wood and fabric headboards never go out of style. Then even if they were out of style, who cares. It is your home and your room so use whatever headboard you like and fit your needs.
Can a Fabric Headboard be Painted?
This is not hard to do and not out of the scope of headboard design. The key is to get the right kind of fabric paint for the material on your headboard. Using the wrong paint will ruin your look and may spoil your headboard so make sure to read the labels closely.
The fabrics you would have the most trouble with would be velvet or those thick woven fabrics. That is because the paint tends to form a hard crust when it soaks into the fibers. One option would be to use a dye instead of as that would be easier to change the color of the fabric without making a mess.
Where to Buy fabric for Headboard
This is where you will have a lot of options You have the internet fabric stores if you want to save a little money on the yardage. There are more than enough of them waiting to hear from you.
Then there are all the national fabric stores and the big-box department stores. They will have a good selection for you to look through. If those do not supply your needs, you can always try upholstery shops. They should have a lot of durable and good looking fabrics for you to use.
Some Final Words
Fabric headboards are not hard to make unless you went with some intricate design that has too many corners and curves to it. The good part about doing it yourself is that you have plenty of material to work with.
You can even be creative and design a good wood headboard and when you are tired of the fabric over it, remove the fabric and go with the wood.
