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Minecraft Banner Maker

Design a banner layer by layer and get the thing every other tool leaves out — the loom sequence that actually builds it. Stack up to six patterns, see the design on a banner and on a shield (which is not the same picture), and copy the /give command in the right format for your version. Java and Bedrock, free, no sign-up.

Base colour
Layers (1)
  • 1

Loom steps

One loom operation per layer, in this order.

  1. Start with a White Banner
  2. 1.Base in Red

Ready-made designs

Click one to load it, then change anything you like.

Flags
Simple
Decorative
Themed

Command

1.20.5 and newer
/give @p minecraft:white_banner[banner_patterns=[{pattern:"minecraft:stripe_bottom",color:"red"}]]

Uses the item-component format.

1.13 – 1.20.4
/give @p minecraft:white_banner{BlockEntityTag:{Patterns:[{Pattern:"bs",Color:14}]}}

Uses the older BlockEntityTag format — it does nothing on 1.20.5+.

How Minecraft banners actually work

A banner is one dyed base plus a stack of patterns, applied one at a time at a loom. Each loom operation takes the banner you have, one dye, and one pattern, and gives you back the banner with that pattern on top. So a finished design is not a picture — it is an ordered recipe, and the order matters: the same six patterns applied in a different sequence give a different banner.

A loom stops at six layers. On Java you can push past that with a command and the game will draw up to sixteen, but no loom will ever build it, so it cannot be made in survival. On Bedrock six is the hard ceiling — extra layers do not render at all, however the item was created. That is why this tool asks which edition you play.

Eight of the patterns — the charges — are not in the loom by default. Each needs a banner pattern item that has to be crafted from a rare ingredient, traded for, or found in a chest, and one of them (the Globe) cannot be obtained on Bedrock at all. When your design uses one, the tool names the item and where it comes from instead of letting you find out at the loom.

Putting a banner on a shield is a crafting-table step, not a loom step, and it consumes the banner. The shield also has a smaller pattern area than the banner, so the design is resampled — thin stripes thin out, and tall motifs squash. The shield preview here re-renders the design at the shield's own resolution rather than shrinking the banner picture, so what you see is what you get.

How to make a banner in Minecraft

  1. 1Craft the base bannerSix wool of one colour plus a stick makes a plain banner in that colour. Pick that colour as the base in the tool.
  2. 2Add your layersAdd up to six patterns, each with its own dye. Reorder them — the sequence changes the result, because later patterns paint over earlier ones.
  3. 3Check the shield and the editionSwitch to the shield view if the design is for a shield, and set Java or Bedrock so the tool can warn you about layer limits and patterns you cannot obtain.
  4. 4Follow the loom stepsPut the banner, the dye and (if needed) the pattern item in a loom, and apply the listed patterns in order. Or copy the /give command for creative mode.

Minecraft banner questions

How many layers can a Minecraft banner have?

A loom applies six. On Java a command can add more and the game renders up to sixteen, but a loom will never build it so it is not survival-craftable. On Bedrock six is absolute — anything beyond it does not show up at all.

Why does my banner look different on a shield?

The shield has a smaller pattern area than the banner, so the design gets resampled into it. Fine detail drops out and tall motifs get squashed. This tool renders the shield at its own resolution and tells you what percentage of the design survives, rather than just shrinking the banner image.

How do I get banner patterns like the creeper or the globe?

Those eight patterns need a banner pattern item. Creeper, skull, flower and thing are crafted from paper plus a rare ingredient (a creeper head, a wither skeleton skull, an oxeye daisy, an enchanted golden apple). Snout comes from bastion chests, flow and guster from trial chamber vaults, and the globe is traded by a master-level cartographer — which is also why the globe cannot be obtained on Bedrock.

Why does the /give command not work?

Almost always a version mismatch. Minecraft 1.20.5 replaced item NBT with item components, so the old BlockEntityTag command does nothing on current versions, and the new component command does nothing on older ones. This tool gives you both, each labelled with the versions it works on.

Does the order of the layers matter?

Yes. Each pattern paints over what is already there, so the same set of patterns in a different order produces a different banner. Use the arrows to reorder and watch the preview change.

How do I copy a banner I already made?

Put the patterned banner and a blank banner of the same base colour together in a crafting grid. You get the original back plus a copy. This is the only way to duplicate a banner without redoing every loom step.

Is this banner maker free?

Completely free, no sign-up. Design as many banners as you like and copy the commands or download the image.

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MakeBead is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or associated with Mojang Studios or Microsoft. Minecraft is a trademark of Mojang Studios.

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