How To Make A Reversible Headboard Slipcover

Hey y’all! A couple of years ago I made a custom reversible headboard slipcover for the wood bed in our master bedroom. The project was part of the One Room Challenge & I promised a fellow blogger friend that I would share how I made it.

That was 2 years ago & I have finally just gotten around to documenting it. Sorry Mari. 🙁 But… better late than never.

Since I was washing my slipcover, I thought it would be a lot easier to show you how I made it by video instead of just telling you about it. So have a look at the video below – I put this together quickly but I do plan to make another that is more clear later, so check back for that. If you prefer to read the steps, continue below the video.

How to make a reversible headboard slipcover

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1. Find some fabric that you love.  I wanted the option to be able to change my cover based on the season, so on one side I have a gray velvet & on the other side I have white linen. You could easily just do 1 fabric for both sides.
2. Pre-wash the fabric.  My fabric would normally be dry clean only, but I wanted to be able to take it off wash it so I took a small cutting of each fabric and washed it. When that did not shrink or destroy the fabric I went ahead and washed all the fabric.
3. Measure the headboard, then measure & either mark or place a few pins on 1 piece of the fabric based on the headboard measurements adding a little extra (about 2 inches) on all sides.
4. Lay the fabric right sides facing together with batting on the outside of each.  Here is the order:
   • batting → fabric with right side up (facing you) → fabric with right side down (facing away from you) → batting.
5. Pin through all 4 layers of fabric & batting. Cut everything to size so that it will be even all the way around.
6. Pin the fabric together all the way around the perimeter leaving the bottom open.
7. Pin a hem along the bottom so that it would be a nice clean edge.
8. First, sew the hem across the bottom.
9. Now pin the hems together (or just hold them since the foot on your machine should keep them together) & stitch the perimeter from the edge of the hem all the way around to the hem on the other side.

Now your slipcover is done & ready to transform the look of your bed!!

Take a look at this before shot of our master bedroom.

This is just months after moving in. Y’all I know I don’t believe in buying sets of furniture. Even though all the pieces in this room were completely separate – the bed from a big box store, my grandmother’s high boy, DH’s dresser from The Dump, my “vanity”/”side table” from a yard sale – they all have the same kind of wood tones.

When we moved, I wanted a change but couldn’t justify buying more furniture when what we have are all perfectly fine, solid pieces that’ll last & last.

Now take a look at the difference the headboard slipcover makes!

Of course, there are other changes in the room but that large expanse of wood just had to go! I’m so glad I considered this option because it lightened the room so much & even DH loves it.

Here’s the greatest thing about this project… THE COST!

I used a total of about 4 yards of fabric & batting for this project – all from JoAnn’s – and after using coupons, I spent less than $20 total. My seamstress charged me $5 to sew it & I tipped her another $5 (because how great is it that she basically charged me nothing AND didn’t even need me to be there to “supervise”?!).

I mentioned in the video that upholstered & slipcovered headboards are super popular everywhere right now – and have been for a while. So I could definitely have bought this similar one for $850. It’s custom made to order, but not reversible with 2 fabric options, and only takes 5-8+ weeks to get it. Or even this one for $2098 – again NOT double sided & 6-8 weeks delivery.

All in, this project cost me less than $30!! And total time spent on it was easily less than a day!

In the end there were so many reasons to tackle this as a DIY project:

• Cost – I easily saved us at least $800!
• Customization – it’s so great to be creative & get exactly what you want, how you want it, when you want it.
• The sheer excitement & joy of another successful project… done!
• Staying true to green design by re-imagining a perfectly great piece of furniture.

You could even add some extra flair to it; think of things like:

• Faux nail head trim
• Pom pom trim (for a girl’s room)
• Greek key trim
• Fringe
• (Grosgrain) ribbon trim

The possibilities are endless. Use your imagination & have fun with it!

So what do you think? Do you think making this custom headboard slipcover was worth it? Would you or have you done a project like this? Let me know in the comments.

Oh and do me a favor… If you like this project, save it, share it, and pin it! Thanks a bunch!! 😉