Minecraft Banner and Shield Designer
Design Minecraft banners and shields layer by layer. Preview every pattern, get the loom steps and copy a /give command for Java Edition.
How to use the banner designer
- Pick a base colour. This is the colour of wool you craft the banner from.
- Choose a layer colour, then click a pattern to add it on top. Layers stack in order, so later layers cover earlier ones.
- Change, reorder or remove layers in the Layers list.
- Follow How to make it in survival to recreate the banner step by step, or copy the /give command.
The shield preview shows how the same design looks when you apply the banner to a shield.
How to make a banner in Minecraft
Craft a banner from 6 wool of one colour and 1 stick, with the wool across the top two rows of a crafting table and the stick in the bottom middle. The wool colour becomes the banner's base colour.
To add a pattern, use a loom. Craft it from 2 string on top and 2 planks below. Put the banner in the first slot and a dye in the second, then choose a pattern. Some patterns also need a banner pattern item in the third slot.
Banner patterns that need an item
Most patterns only need a dye. These 10 also need a banner pattern item, which stays in the loom and isn't used up:
| Pattern | How to get the banner pattern item |
|---|---|
| Bordure Indented | Craft from paper and vines |
| Field Masoned | Craft from paper and bricks |
| Flower Charge | Craft from paper and an oxeye daisy |
| Creeper Charge | Craft from paper and a creeper head |
| Skull Charge | Craft from paper and a wither skeleton skull |
| Thing | Craft from paper and an enchanted golden apple |
| Globe | Buy from a master-level cartographer villager |
| Snout | Find in bastion remnant chests |
| Flow | Find in ominous vaults in trial chambers |
| Guster | Find in trial chamber vaults |
Bordure Indented and Field Masoned have needed an item since Java Edition 1.21.2.
How many layers can a banner have?
A loom can add up to 6 pattern layers. In Java Edition, commands can create banners with up to 16 visible layers. In Bedrock Edition, banners show at most 6 layers.
Turn on Allow up to 16 layers to design a banner for a Java command. Layers past the sixth can't be made in survival, and a shield only uses the first 6.
How to put a banner on a shield
Place a shield with no pattern and your finished banner in a crafting table. The banner is used up, and the shield keeps its durability and enchantments. You can't change a shield's pattern afterwards, so finish the banner first. This works in both Java and Bedrock Edition.
How to use the /give command
The commands use the item component format from Java Edition 1.20.5 onwards. Paste one into chat in a world with cheats on. The shield command sets the base colour with base_color and adds the same layers.
Older Java versions used a different format, so these commands won't work before 1.20.5. Bedrock Edition can't give banners with patterns by command.
FAQ
What do the pattern names mean? They come from heraldry. A chief is the top of a shield, a base is the bottom, a pale is a vertical band and a fess is a horizontal band. Dexter and sinister mean the left and right sides.
Can I remove a pattern from a banner? Use the banner on a cauldron of water to remove the most recently added layer. Each wash removes one layer and uses up some of the water.
Why does my shield look slightly different? Shields show patterns at about half the resolution of banners, so small details look blockier.
Are the charge designs exact? No. The Creeper, Skull, Flower, Thing, Globe, Snout, Flow and Guster previews are simplified drawings. Their position and colour are right, but the in-game art is more detailed.