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Home » Woven Headboard: Easy DIY IKEA Headboard Hack

Woven Headboard: Easy DIY IKEA Headboard Hack

June 12, 2018 ·

DIY woven headboardThree roles of autumn orange canvas, a staple gun, scissors and the IKEA Fjellse bed (Tarva would work as well) and voilà! If you’re like me, you buy the cheapest furniture for your kids because it’s only a matter of time before it’s covered in half-peeled stickers and brown-grey sticker residue that gets more disgusting the harder you try to scrub it off.  So a year ago when I walked into IKEA ready to purchase my son’s first big boy bed, I picked the cheapest pine bed frame in the showroom.

This Ikea Fjellse headboard is terrible for a toddler. Use this easy Ikea hack to improve the look and functionality. Upon assembly, I realized that it is THE WORST.  It offers no support to prop up pillows, and my son smacks his head on the wall or the top of the frame constantly.  I was ready to get it the effff out of my house, but decided to try my hand at IKEA hacking before turning it into bonfire kindling.  
 
This is a super easy project that anyone with an open wood headboard like the IKEA Fjellse, Neiden or Tarva can do.  What’s that you say?  You don’t have a Fjellse or a Tarva?  Check Craig’s List.  This sturdy, but terribly designed bed, is likely to be plentiful on the second-hand market.  Let’s get started!

What you’ll need

Wood bed frame
Staple Gun
Staples (I used 3/8 inch but 5/16 would be fine as well)
Canvas rolls, your favorite width and color (I used 1.25 inch in Orange)
Good scissors
Four 2-inch screws and a drill (optional)

What you’ll do 

Step 1

(This is optional, but a good idea if you intend to make this a functional headboard and not just eye candy.)  Pre-drill above or below the IKEA provided bolts and secure the top and bottom frame boards with screws so that the board won’t move when the canvas adds tension.Ikea headboard hack step one. Secure the top and bottom of the headboard.

Step 2

Staple the end of the canvas to the back of the bottom board, pull over the top of the frame, tighten and staple to back. Put a little body weight into it and use 2-3 staples on both the top and the bottom. Cut the canvas below the staples so that you can’t see the ends from the front of the bed. Repeat at even increments (I just eyeballed the spacing) all the way across until it looks like this

Ikea headboard hack- Staple canvas to the frame and weave.

Step 3

Start from the top left (or right if that’s your jam) and staple one end. You will need to pre-cut strips this time to weave the canvas. Pull the strip over and under all the way across. If you started under, make sure the next strip goes over first. Just think back to paper weaving in elementary school. Repeat until you are below where the mattress will sit.

Ikea headboard back- woven canvas.

Step 4

Admire your sweet new headboard and remember that it doesn’t alway take a professional!

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Filed Under: How To, Kids Furniture Tagged With: headboard, Ikea Hack, upholster

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Lara sitting on a table with a socket wrench

Hi! I’m Lara, The Unprofessional

Hi! I’m Lara, an aspiring handywoman and shameless dabbler who enjoys sharing. I’ve learned that home projects are often not as hard as they look, materials are more forgiving that one might imagine, and the chances of chopping off your fingers or drilling through your hand are less than I feared (but also not zero so be careful). I am, by definition, The Unprofessional. Read More

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