How to Make an Item Frame in Minecraft

Guide Java Bedrock

Quick answer: Craft an item frame with 8 sticks around 1 leather on a crafting table. It displays any item or block on a wall, floor or ceiling, and putting a map inside shows the map itself, which is how map walls are built.

What you need

1 leather
8 sticks

Step by step

Get leather by killing cows, horses or other leather-dropping mobs (or from fishing and loot chests).
Craft 8 sticks from planks.
Open a crafting table.
Place the leather in the center slot.
Surround it with 8 sticks, filling every other slot.
Take the item frame and place it on the side, top or bottom of a solid block, then right-click it with the item you want to display.

Java vs Bedrock

The item frame recipe is the same in Java and Bedrock. Right-click a placed frame to rotate the item in 45-degree steps, which hidden-door builders use as a combination lock signal with redstone comparators. In Java an item frame is an entity and several can share one block space with other frames; in Bedrock it is a block entity. Combine an item frame with a glow ink sac to get a glow item frame that highlights the displayed item, and use an invisibility potion trick (commands or Creative) only if you want the frame itself hidden.

Versions: javabedrock

Frequently asked questions

How do you put a map in an item frame?

Place the item frame on a block, then use the filled map on the frame. The map renders at full block size, and multiple framed maps tile together into a large map wall.

Can you rotate items in an item frame?

Yes. Interact with the frame after placing the item: each use rotates it 45 degrees. A redstone comparator reads the rotation as a signal strength, which enables item-frame locks.

How do you make a glow item frame?

Craft a regular item frame, then combine it with a glow ink sac from a glow squid in the crafting grid. The displayed item glows and stays visible in the dark.