Part 8 - Cutting the fabric

Part 8- Cutting the Fabric

It's time for the exciting part – beginning to position and cut your chosen fabric for the face of the headboard.

1. If you require more than one drop of fabric to cover the width of your headboard, you will need to pattern match.

1. To do this, start by laying your fabric out and familiarising yourself with the pattern repeat, and where you might need to pattern match. Now is also a good time to work out which part of the pattern you want to sit where on your final headboard.

1. Next, cut your main piece of fabric to the required length using fabric scissors. To work out the length of fabric you need, measure the total depth of your headboard including the wood frame, foam layer and other fabric layers. Double this, then add the height of the headboard. Add at least an additional 10 cm on either end so you have enough to pull it around. For example, if your headboard is 5 cm deep and 150 cm tall, and you are adding 10 cm for either end, your fabric will need to be 180 cm in length.

1. It's a good idea to mark the top of the fabric on the back with tailor's chalk – this will help you keep track of which way round it goes when you start to move the fabric around.

1. To begin pattern matching, lay your uncut length of fabric face up. Put your cut length of fabric on top of this face up. Begin to move it around to see where you can line up the pattern, so that when you join the two pieces of fabric, the pattern continues seamlessly and gives you enough width to cover the rest of your headboard. Mark the position using tailor's chalk or pins.

1. Next, cut this additional piece of fabric to size. To do this, first measure the length you require. This is dictated by the height of the section of your headboard that this piece of fabric will cover. Mark with chalk.

1. To work out the width you require, measure an additional few centimetres from the pattern match line into the discarded section to accommodate a seam allowance and mark using tailor's chalk. Then measure the extra width you require from the pattern match line and mark all the way up with chalk. Cut using fabric scissors.

1. Repeat as necessary if additional width is needed on the other side. It's always best to have seams sitting symmetrically on each side, rather than one seam down the middle.