diy upholstered headboard and footboard//part 2

sorry that took a minute, but i am back to share with you the finished result of wren's upholstered headboard and foot board.  

if you missed out on part 1, do not worry, you can catch up here. 

we left off after applying the batting to your headboard and foot board, and applying "feet" to your headboard to add desired height.

let's start with the next steps to finishing the headboard.

first, iron your fabric

i definitely recommend doing this before upholstering to make sure you are pulling the fabric as tight as possible without any wrinkling.

second, layout your fabric in the desired direction/placement and lay your headboard down on top.

and in my case, add a toddler.

then cut away any extra fabric ( to be used for the foot board)

next, start upholstering.  i like to start with a side and apply 2/3 staples in the middle.  then do the opposite side the same, and then remaining two sides, ending with the top.  then go back and work your way from the middle of each side to the edges, again ending with the top.  make sure to pull taught as you go.  you will need to do some serious tugging to get the corners right especially on the decorative top edge.

here is a closer look at how i did my corners

and a closer look at the top detail/edges

here is the finished product.

just wedge the headboard between the wall and the mattress.

that wasn't so hard now was it?

now onto the foot board.

this was a little trickier, since there was no backside, both sides had to be finished.  my solution was to sew a slipcover.  i really wanted this to be a no sew project, but this was obviously the best choice.

i showed a photo in part 1 of the foot board after the foam and batting had been applied.

i actually went back and applied batting to the other side as well.  i layed the batting out and cut it to the shape of the foot board and then applied with staples.  i wanted both sides to be padded and i wanted to cover up as many of the staples/rough edges as possible.  i used minimal staples when applying the batting to this side.

once your foam and batting are applied, attach the foot board to the metal frame.

FYI, i did things back asswards.  i set up my frame backwards so that i could attach the foot board directly to the frame, and then i wedged the headboard between the mattress and the wall so i would not have to purchase an additional attachment for the frame.  i screwed the foot board on and used a washer so that the screw wouldn't slip through the hole on the frame.

(do not judge my crooked screw, it does the job)

next i measured the foot board, and cut and pinned my fabric accordingly.  (the size will be a little larger than your board because of the foam and batting you added, so don't just assume the size.).

i sewed the three sides shut like you would a pillow case and left the fourth (bottom) open.  i slipped it over the foot board to make sure it was snug.  i ended up taking mine in a little because it was not snug enough.

once i got those three sides right, i trimmed away the excess fabric.  

then turn your pillow case inside out and trace the rounded edges.  (use the same item you used to trace the shape onto the plywood.)

then sew

and trim away any extra fabric all the way around.

slip it onto your foot board again to make sure the corners match up.

if it fits good, next you will want to measure where your foot board attaches to the metal bed frame so you can make a slit.  mark it on the under side of your fabric.  i turned my fabric inside out and i took a seam ripper to the appropriate height and then hemmed the edges.

here is a look at the slip cover on the foot board so you can see how those slits work.

and here is one from the inside of the frame.

once the slits are hemmed you will want to hem the bottom edge of your slip cover.

i made mine about a 1/4" - 1/2" too long in case i wanted to tuck it under.  with the current layout of wren's room you can not see the bottom of her foot due to her tent, but that may not always be the case.  therefore, i left enough to be able to tuck it under the foot board to give it a more finished look.

now you are all done, slip that bad boy on and admire your handy work:)

and here is a look at the completed bed!

if you are having some anxiety about switching your little one to a big kid bed we have had an amazing experience.  my recommendations would be:

-get them involved, either with picking out or setting the bed up, or in our case making it. 

-put things on the bed that are familiar to them, stuffed animals, pillows, blankets, etc.

-make it new, either with purchasing a new bedding item or something else that you know they will like/enjoy

-praise them the first few times that they sleep in the bed.  

-do not go back to the crib, you will only have to start over.

-continue bed time rituals/routines the same as you did with the crib.

-if your child gets out of bed handle it the same way you would with a night waking or when they called out for you in the crib.  for us we just told her it was night night time and layed her back down.  if she wanted a drink we got her a drink and layed her back down.  keep things as normal as possible.

if you are not as lucky as us and you have trouble with your child, just remember all of the other changes; weaning from breastfeeding or bottle feeding, night wakings, etc.  your child will probably handle this transition the same.  it may be a couple of rough nights but it will be worth it in the end.  wren actually only gets out of her bed in the mornings.  if she wakes up any other time she stays in the bed and calls out for us.  we do have a toddler rail up to prevent her from falling out, but she has enough space to get in and out if she wishes.

if anyone has any questions about the process, comment on this post or shoot me an email.