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Enhance and personalize your Minecraft world with this comprehensive guide.
If you want to showcase a rare item you discovered or simply add some unique decor to your Minecraft space, Item Frames are incredibly useful. These easy-to-create blocks are versatile and can be placed on any solid surface, giving you endless possibilities for both decoration and functionality. Continue reading as we break down the crafting process for Item Frames, how to use them for display, and how they can elevate your Minecraft experience.
How to Craft an Item Frame
- Gather 8 Sticks and 1 Leather.
- Open the crafting table by right-clicking on it.
- Place the Leather in the center slot of the middle row.
- Fill the remaining slots with Sticks to complete the Item Frame.
- Drag the crafted Item Frame into your inventory.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Crafting an Item Frame in Minecraft: A Step-by-Step Guide
Gather 8 Sticks and 1 Leather. To craft an Item Frame, you’ll need Sticks and Leather—both are easy-to-find materials in the early stages of Minecraft.
- For Sticks, break leaves from trees to see if they drop any. Alternatively, chop down tree trunks until they break into logs. Open your crafting menu and place the logs to create planks. Then, arrange 2 planks vertically to craft 4 Sticks.
- For Leather, slay cows, horses, donkeys, mules, or llamas to obtain it. You might also come across Leather in random chests, especially those outside buildings with cauldrons in villages.
Combine Sticks and Leather on a Crafting Table to Make an Item Frame. First, craft a table with 4 wood planks and place it in your world. Open the table’s crafting menu, place the Leather in the center, and fill the remaining spaces with Sticks to form an Item Frame. Once crafted, simply add the frame to your inventory.
Other Methods to Obtain Item Frames
Trade Emeralds with a Cartographer Villager for an Item Frame. According to Minecraft expert Zac Churchill, “you can exchange materials you collect for various items depending on the villager’s profession.” Look for a Cartographer villager (they wear monocles) and trade 7 Emeralds for 1 Item Frame.
- If the Cartographer doesn’t offer the Item Frame yet, trade other items to level up the villager. As the level increases, new trades will become available.
- Churchill also notes that you’ll often find chests with random items scattered across villages, which might include Item Frames.
Search End Ships for Item Frames. After you defeat the Ender Dragon in The End, you may find End Ships near the End Cities. These ships often contain 1 Item Frame with Elytra inside.
- Elytra is a rare and valuable item in Minecraft, granting you the ability to fly, so make sure you have enough inventory space to collect it.
Find Item Frames in the Creative Mode materials menu. In Creative Mode, simply type “frame” in the search bar of the materials menu, and the Item Frame will appear. Alternatively, locate it under the Functional Blocks section, where it’s shown with a sign icon.
- In Minecraft versions 1.19 and earlier, Item Frames can be found under the Decoration Blocks menu with a flower icon.
How to Utilize Item Frames in Minecraft
Right-click while holding the Item Frame to place it on a block. You can place an Item Frame on any solid block surface. Simply approach the block with the Frame equipped and right-click to set it down.
- On controller, use the left trigger to place the Frame.
- If you place the Frame incorrectly, click on it to remove it and it will return to your inventory.
- If placement proves tricky, try crouching by holding Shift before placing the Frame.
Hold an item and right-click on the Frame to insert it. An Item Frame can hold one item at a time. Equip the item and stand in front of the Frame. Right-click to insert the item into the Frame, and an image of the item will appear inside.
- After placing an item, right-click on the Frame again to rotate it by 45 degrees.
Click the frame to retrieve the item. If you want to use an item stored in an Item Frame, simply click on the Frame to make the item pop out. If you have enough space in your inventory, the item will automatically be added to it.
- When placing the item back in the frame, the game will remember the direction it was facing.
- If you hit the empty Frame, it will detach from the surface, allowing you to pick it up and move it elsewhere.
Creating Glow Item Frames
Place a Glow Ink Sac and Item Frame on a crafting table. Glow Ink Sacs are dropped by glow squids. To craft a Glow Item Frame, simply place both the Item Frame and the Glow Ink Sac in the crafting grid. This will turn your Item Frame into a glowing one, which provides a soft light and makes it visible in the dark while subtly illuminating a room.
Creating Invisible Item Frames in Creative Mode
In Creative Mode, first enable cheats by going into the settings and turning “Allow Cheats” on. Then, open the chat and type the command “/give @s item_frame{Entity Tag:{Invisible:1b}}”. This will give you an invisible Item Frame. Once placed, it will be invisible, but you’ll still be able to see the item inside it.
Using Item Frames for Decoration
Attach Item Frames to chests to label your stored items. Crouch next to a chest and affix an Item Frame to its side. To mark the chest’s contents, place an item inside the Frame. This will help you easily identify what’s inside at a glance.
- If the chest holds tools, place a pickaxe or shovel in the Frame.
- If it contains armor or weapons, put a sword in the Frame.
- If it stores metals and gems, insert a gold ingot into the Frame.
Use Frames with Arrows to create directional signs. If you want to guide players along a path, place an Item Frame on a post or tree. Insert an Arrow or Hopper into the Frame and rotate it to point in the desired direction.
Place frames on a table and add food to create a plate-like display. To make your Minecraft house feel more welcoming, craft a table and set Item Frames flat on it. Fill the frames with food items like chicken, steak, pork, carrots, apples, and more to create the appearance of a feast laid out for guests.
Craft lily pads using a Frame, a flower, and coral. To decorate a pond in your Minecraft world, place a dirt block in the water, then attach a trapdoor to it. Position the Item Frame flat on the trapdoor and insert a sunflower inside. Next, place a coral block on the trapdoor to create the lily pad petals.
- Once the trapdoor is set, you can safely remove the dirt block underneath it.
Place invisible Frames with stone blocks to create small rocks on the ground. To add some decorative flair outside your Minecraft home, lay invisible Frames flat on the ground. Insert stone buttons, stone walls, or cobblestone blocks inside the Frames to make them look like little pebbles scattered on the ground.
- If you’re in Survival mode, you can cover the Frames with snow so that only the items inside are visible, giving them the appearance of small pebbles hidden in the snow.
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If you’d prefer to craft a painting instead, open a crafting table and place a piece of Wool in the center box of the middle row. Then surround it with sticks to create 1 Painting.
