How to Make a Tufted Footboard

Upholstered, tufted headboards add a sense of opulence and romance to the bedroom. Extend that feeling to both ends of the bed by giving the footboard a treatment to create an upholstered, tufted look. It is easy to make over an existing headboard into a plush, romantic feature on your bed. Using an existing footboard also helps ensure the piece will fit properly on your bed frame because, unlike DIY headboards, footboards are often not mounted to the wall. Customize your project by choosing fabrics that match both the room’s color scheme and your personality. Or choose fabrics you love and use them as a jumping-off point for a total bedroom makeover.

Footboard (that fits your bedframe)
Measuring tape
Upholstery fabric
Marker
Cordless drill
1/16-inch drill bit
Covered button kit with buttons
Scissors
Upholstery foam
Spray adhesive
Polyester batting
Staple gun
Staples
Large-eye upholstery needle
Coordinating upholstery thread

Instructions

- 1
  Measure the height and width of your headboard. Add 18 inches to each of the measurements. Multiply the measurements by 2, as you will need to wrap the front and back of the headboard. Take these measurements to the fabric store and purchase enough fabric to cover those measurements.
- 2
  Turn your footboard piece so the back side faces up. Using a marker, draw X’s where you would like the tufted buttons to be located. Space each button about 3 inches from the one on its left and about 5 inches from the one above.
- 3
  Fit your cordless drill with a 1/16-inch drill bit. Carefully drill a small hole through each previously marked X. Turn the footboard to the front and wipe off any debris.
- 4
  Cut a strip of fabric about 6 inches wide. Using your covered button kit, carefully cover each button with fabric. Kits vary slightly on their guidelines, so read the directions included with your kit before covering buttons. Cover about three extra buttons so that you can replace broken buttons.
- 5
  Spray the front of the footboard gently with spray adhesive. Place upholstery foam onto the headboard. If necessary, cut pieces of upholstery into small blocks to cover the front of the headboard by fitting the pieces together like a puzzle. Cut any excess away from the edges.
- 6
  Place a layer of polyester batting over the foam applied in the previous step. Wrap the excess batting around the back of the footboard, as you would wrap a Christmas present. Turn the footboard on its top edge and staple the batting to the bottom edge of the footboard, hiding it from view.
- 7
  Stand the footboard upright and cover the front of the footboard with fabric. Ensure there is also enough fabric to wrap around to the back. Staple the fabric in place at the bottom edge.
- 8
  Thread a large-eye upholstery needle with coordinating thread. Stick the needle through the center-most hole, from the back to the front. Thread the needle through one of the covered buttons and pull tight, creating a tuft. Sew the button in place once more. Continue until all of the buttons are sewn in place.
- 9
  Wrap fabric around the footboard using the same procedure described in Step 7. Fit the finished footboard to the bed frame.

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