Personalized Cross Stitch Headboard for Dorm or Teen Room

by: Chica

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Personalized Cross Stitch Headboard for Dorm or Teen Room

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Decorating college dorms is all about the personalization. What's more personal than your name on your headboard? I capitalized on the needlework trend and created an oversized cross stitch headboard for her room.

A unexpected source for an oversized cross stitch canvas

The second I saw these louvered lighting fixture covers at Lowe's, I instantly thought the grid would make a perfect giant cross stitch canvas. And it was the perfect size for a headboard!

Materials to make oversized cross stitch

To fill these giant grid squares, I bought some very large, chunky yarn to use for my stitching. Not only does this yarn fill the big squares easily, it also makes the headboard very comfortably padded.

How to stitch with yarn and this grid

I used a standard "X" cross stitch and fed the yarn over each intersection in the grid, just like you would on a small canvas with a needle.

Stitching the name first

I started stitching the name first. My daughter's name is fairly short, so it fit easily on this canvas. If your kid has a longer name, you might want to consider just doing a monogram.

If you need help laying the design out, use graph paper to color in the name before starting to stitch it onto the grid.

Here is the name all finished, and I love it. Remember that since you're dealing with square "pixels", you won't get perfectly smooth curves on your letters, but that's okay!

Cutting the grid to size

The grid was a little bit too wide for my daughter's twin-sized bed, so I used a heated knife to cut off the excess on on end. PLEASE make sure you do this outdoors or in a WELL VENTILATED area, because the melting plastic will give off fumes.

Filling in the background

With the name done, I was ready to start filling in the background. I chose a neutral color of the same chunky yarn.

Before filling in the background, I first covered the edges of the grid so it would be smooth and soft all the way around.

TIP: if you are going to add more colors to the background like I did, remember to switch colors when you get to those portions of the edge.

The cream color yarn really makes the green name pop!

Adding accents of color

For more interest, and to match the colors of her room, I added stripes of pink, mustard, and burnt orange at the bottom, in equal widths.

See how well these colors match the mushroom pillows she already had in her room? This is such a great way to add the exact colors you need for your decor.

Hanging the headboard

You can hang the headboard in several ways, and since it is so lightweight, you can even use Command Hooks. This damage-free hanging method makes it perfect for a college dorm room.

Be sure to mount it high enough so that it's not hidden by the numerous pillows your kid undoubtedly has.

Also works as wall art!

This same technique also makes lovely wall art for a bedroom or nursery. You can cut the light grid to the size you need and go wild with your own designs.