How to use these banner designs
Pick a tab or search for a design, then follow the loom steps under the card. Each card lists the layer count, the base banner and every dye you need. Open in Banner Maker loads the exact design in our Banner Maker, where you can change colors, add layers or get /setblock and shield commands. Copy /give copies a ready-made Java command for creative mode or servers where you have operator rights.
How to make a banner design in survival
- Craft the banner. Six wool of one color plus a stick makes a banner, and that wool color is the base of your design.
- Craft a loom. Two string over two planks. The loom is also the shepherd villager's job site block.
- Gather the dyes. Each layer uses one dye. A design with three black layers needs three black dye, even if they are in different places.
- Apply the layers in order. Put the banner in the first slot and the dye in the second, choose the pattern, then take the banner out and repeat. Later layers cover earlier ones, so follow the steps from top to bottom.
Most patterns only need dye. A few need a banner pattern item in the loom's third slot, which is never used up. On this page that means the Bordure Indented Banner Pattern (Paper + Vines) for the letter D and the number 8, the Field Masoned Banner Pattern (Paper + Bricks) for the castle wall, and the Skull Charge Banner Pattern (Paper + Wither Skeleton Skull) for the pirate flag. Cards that need one are tagged Needs pattern item.
A loom stops at 6 patterns, so every design here uses 6 layers or fewer. If you add more in the Banner Maker, it warns you that the extra layers only work with commands.
How to put letters on banners and write words
Minecraft has no text option for banners, so each letter is built from shapes. Our letters are bold block capitals: they draw the letter in stripes and halves, then add a thin border in the background color so neighboring banners do not run together. Use the Spell a word box to preview a whole sign, count the wool, dye and banners you need, download the row as a PNG, or copy one /give command per letter.
- Pick strong contrast. Black on white or white on black reads best from a distance. Lighter pairs such as yellow on white are hard to read.
- Change both colors together. The letter layers use the letter color and the cut-out layers use the background color. That is why the materials list often includes a few dyes in the background color as well.
- Copy repeated letters. Put a finished banner and a blank banner of the same base color in a crafting grid to make an identical copy. This saves time on words with repeated letters.
- Hang them at eye level. Banners placed on the side of a block become wall banners, so a row of blocks makes an easy sign board.
Some letters share shapes with numbers, so the designs keep them apart: zero has a slash, 8 has indented corners where B has square ones, and 1 has a slanted flag where I has a full top bar.
How to copy a banner design to a shield
Put a shield that has no pattern and the finished banner together in a crafting grid. The shield takes the whole design, keeps its durability and enchantments, and the banner is used up. A shield with a pattern cannot take a second design, so copy the banner first if you want one for the wall as well. The Banner Maker also gives a /give command for a shield with any of these designs.
Java vs Bedrock notes
- Loom limit: 6 patterns per banner in both editions.
- Commands: In Java Edition, banners made with commands can show up to 16 layers, but the item tooltip lists only the first 6. Banners with more than 6 layers cannot be copied in a crafting grid.
- Bedrock /give: Bedrock's /give cannot add banner patterns, so use the loom steps. Bedrock also lets you craft most patterns onto a banner in a crafting table, though this often takes more dye.
- Command format: The commands here use the item component format from Java 1.20.5, which still works in Java 26.3. Older versions used a different NBT format, which the Banner Maker can also write.
Cool banner design ideas and tips
The cool designs are our own: scenes such as a sunset over the sea, a castle gate and a mountain peak, plus a dragon eye, an enchanted rune and a creeper-style face made only from shapes. A few tricks make your own designs look better:
- Let the base do work. The base color is a free layer. A sky-blue base for scenes saves a pattern.
- Cover to cut. Add a large shape, then paint part of it back in the background color. Most letters on this page are made this way.
- Finish with a gradient. A black or white Gradient as the last layer adds depth, like the sea in Sunset Sea or the mist in Mountain Peak.
- Flags are approximations. Banners are tall, so stripes stretch, Nordic crosses can only sit in the center and emblems are left out. Every flag card is tagged Simplified and explains what differs.