In my post “Framing a t-shirt (on the cheap)” I used an acrylic box frame to frame a t-shirt. The acrylic frame worked well but admittedly it was a bit haphazard and the masking-tape backing (which held the t-shirt in) was starting to come off. So while perusing the local Michaels for something unrelated I came across some shadow boxes and thought that they might work better.
This is the 8×10 shadow box frame I got from michaels, it goes for ~$14.00 but it was on sale for ~$9.00; either way it’s still inexpensive. Notice how tall the sides are – you will see the benefit of this later on.
A piece of foam core was cut to fit inside the frame:
The foam core was then placed inside the t-shirt and test fitted in the frame. Note that you may need to cut the foam core a little bit smaller to compensate for the t-shirt:
The high sides of the shadow box frame allow the rest of the shirt to be stuffed inside the frame:
Before the final fit a lit roller was used to remove any fuzzes from the t-shirt:
Gave the glass of the frame a good cleaning too:
After the final stuffing the the back of the frame was put in place:
Final result:
@frogdut
Thank you for leaving your comment. It’s really great to hear when my posts inspire or are useful to others.
I am soo glad I found this website! My best friend was getting rid of a bunch of clothes after she had her first baby because even after the baby weight was gone, certain things did not fit right anymore. One of them was a shirt she had made for hockey games that said simply “HABS SUCK” (serious hockey fan is an understatement). Now I am not of the same opinion, but it was a great shirt because she wore it with such conviction and pride… she had many a free beer bought for her out of respect for the shirt. I took this shirt out of the Sally Ann pile unbeknownst to her, knowing that she would one day regret this decision. I now know what I am going to do for her this year for christmas. I wanted to let you know that you have made one hardcore Canucks fan and new mom’s year!! Thanks for the tips on the shadow box!
Thanks for posting this – as my son gets older I want to save so many of his shirts from bands he’s joined and the one from the LOST tv show with just the “numbers” but havent found a way to do it – this is a great idea!! Thanks for the pix it really shows details on how to do it.
@julie
Thanks – I share this stuff in the hopes that someone else will find it useful; I’m glad you do.
Great project! And a worthy band. Bleach are one of my favorite groups of all time.
@Mark Thomas
Thanks!
Wow, what a great idea! I have a t-shirt that a friend made from High School that I no longer fit into, but couldn’t stand to throw away. It’s been languishing in the back of my closet, but now I can give it the place of honor it deserves. Thanks so much for sharing this idea!
BTW – found my way here via Instructibles.
@H Lynnea
So glad that you found this useful – thanks for taking the time to comment.
What a great idea! I have hockey and football jerseys from college that I would really like to display in my office, but they’re childrens size, so of course they don’t fit into a regular jersey case. And plus that would cost more then the little jerseys themselves..
This is definitely going to my office more me. Thanks!
@Stephanie B
I’m glad you found this useful – thanks for taking time to comment.
My buddy, D. Johnson recently moved to small town Nebraska and bought a home with a “man cave” basement. I have 3 classic Big Johnson tee’s I will shadow box frame and send back. He’ll never forget me and his wife will never forgive me!!! HA
Flaz from San Diego
@Flaz
Never saw a “Big Johnson” tee… so I looked it up. I doubt him or his wife will forget ya.
Thanks for the comment, glad you found this useful.
Will this be able to like keep it well preserved for a very long time?
@Judy
I’m sure it will keep for a good while… depending on the material (cotton, polyester, etc.) of the shirt your putting in there. However, I don’t image that the glass in these shadow box frames offer any UV protection so you’d want to keep it out of direct sunlight, or get some UV coated glass for the frame if that’s a concern. It’s certainly not air tight either, two enemies of preservation: sunlight and air.
The upshot is this isn’t a method for a historical artifact or something of monetary value. The fact that the shirt is stuffed inside the frame shows that. In the context I used it – keeping a favorite t-shirt around and relatively safe – it works great. But it’s certainty not a way to preserve something in the sense that you’d want to keep the Mona Lisa preserved and protected.