Have you ever wanted to display a special garment from a loved one’s childhood? I found a simple way to display a child’s shirt.
Every month, the blogger group I am a part of has a different creative challenge. For February, we were tasked with showcasing something near and dear to our hearts and writing up a tutorial on how to make it or put it together. I actually got the idea for mine from an older blog post on Miss Mustard Seed’s blog.
My mother was very sentimental and saved practically everything! When I was going through the family pictures, I found this picture of her as a child. I think she must be about 3 years old.
Doesn’t she look sweet in her sailor suit? The picture was probably taken in the early 1930s.
A few days after I found the picture, I was going through a box of vintage baby clothes, and I found the top to the sailor suit! I don’t think the pants survived as they weren’t with the rest of the vintage items.
The shirt is made out of heavy cotton. I washed it on the gentle cycle and used non-chlorine bleach. I did dry it in the dryer on low. I am amazed how vibrant the Anchor insignia still is. Using a warm iron, I pressed the garment to remove most of the wrinkles before continuing on with my project.
The Supplies
After gathering a frame, a piece of foam board, an old pillowcase, my trusty Velcro strips, scissors, a box cutter and some tape, I was ready to go to work. Using a ruler, I measured the inside of the frame and cut a piece of foam board to fit the area. After placing the foam board inside the frame, I removed it and wrapped the pillowcase tightly around the foam board. I taped the foam board in place and then finished the back with a piece of brown paper.
Placing the shirt on the frame, I used strips of Velcro to attach the shirt to the frame. A word of advice: make sure that you have the right pieces of Velcro. One is ribbed and the other is more like cotton or smooth fabric. I found myself trying to get to pieces of ribbed or two pieces of smooth to affix to each other! Silly me! To help hold the sleeves in place, I did use straight pins.
The Framed Sailor Shirt
To further protect the sailor shirt, I should have a piece of glass to cover it. This will work for a temporary display, and I will get an actual frame with a piece of glass and re mount the shirt.
Vintage Child’s Sailor Suit
I am pleased with how my project turned out. I have a piece of my Mom’s childhood with me. It even has a nautical motif to go with my Florida home!
The vintage basket filled with blue hydrangeas really helps pull out the blue color in the sailor shirt.
One Last Look
If you would like to see what the other ladies made for the challenge, just click the link below! Thank you!!
What a precious keepsake,Kim!! Love it!❤️
Thank you Leslie!
I love this idea so much! I have had my kids christening gowns stored in a box in the basement for over 30 years. You inspire me to get them out and frame them.
Blessings to you.
Thank you , Renae! Miss Mustard Seed used a child’s vintage hanger in her blog post. I also have my grandmother’s and uncle’s christening gowns as well as some of my baby clothes. That will be a project for another day!
I love this so much Kim! What an adorable little memory you have now.
Thank you, Sydney! I was so excited when I found it! Thanks for coming up with the idea for the Challenge!
Oh my goodness. How special that you still have this and the photo to go along with it!
Thank you, Marie! It is amazing that the little shirt is in such good shape! I was afraid it would fall apart when I washed it but thankfully it didn’t!
What a special keepsake! The photo just makes it wonderful!
Thank you, Jennifer!
This is such a great idea!! I love the three dimensional look!! Great idea!
Thank you, Sharon! It was one of those projects that just came together fairly easily!
Kimberly,
I really love how you showcased this vintage item. I would have loved to have something like this of my mother’s to save. What a treasure!
Thank you, Tammy! I was very lucky to have a mother who saved practically everything!
You are So Creative! I Love it!
How wonderful that you managed to find the top to the sailor suit! I love how you made your showcase, it’s given me some ideas for making my own!
Thank you , Jayne! It just happened to be in a box among some other items and I recognized it from the picture that I had found a few days earlier!
I have been wondering about this myself as I have a few smocked garments I made for my children when they were young that I’d like to display. Thanks so much for sharing this.
Thank you Carol! The Velcro dots worked so well! I am glad so many people are finding it helpful!
Oh my goodness! This is such a great way to display your mom’s sailor suit top. The picture of her wearing it is precious.
Thank you, Paula! I really should invest in an actual shadow box to put it in but in the mean time, I think this works really well!
I love that it is not under glass. Such a refreshing idea! It looks perfect in that setting. great job!
Thank you, Laurie!
I am such a sap for a nostalgic project! This is absolutely darling! What are the chances that you would find that sweet piece of your Mom’s childhood and still have the photo as well! This makes my heart to happy!
Thank you , Sue! I actually think there is a 8 x 10 of my Mom wearing the suit…. somewhere still buried in treasures that I haven’t finished going thru. This was an amazing find!