How to Make a Loom in Minecraft and Use It on Banners
Two string over 2 planks make a loom. How to make a loom in Minecraft and use it for banner patterns, one dye per layer, with every pattern item listed.
A loom is 2 string on top of 2 planks. On a crafting table (or even your 2x2 inventory grid), put the two string side by side and the two planks directly below them. Any wood works, and the result is one loom.
Finding string
Spiders drop up to 2 string each, and you’ll have plenty after a night or two. Breaking cobwebs with a sword also gives string; mineshafts are full of them. If you have a cat, it sometimes brings you string as a morning gift.
Using the loom
Open the loom and you’ll see three input slots:
- Banner: any banner, blank or already patterned.
- Dye: one dye per pattern layer.
- Pattern item: optional, for special designs.
Pick a design from the list, take the banner from the output, and repeat for the next layer. Each layer costs one dye. You also get a preview of the result before you take it, which saves a lot of wasted banners.
A banner holds up to six pattern layers. Some popular designs (letters, flags) need all six, so plan the order: later layers draw over earlier ones.
Banner pattern items
The basic patterns (stripes, borders, gradients, crosses) need only dye. The special ones need a banner pattern item in the third slot. The pattern isn’t used up, so you only need one of each.
| Pattern | How to get it |
|---|---|
| Flower Charge | Paper + oxeye daisy |
| Creeper Charge | Paper + creeper head |
| Skull Charge | Paper + wither skeleton skull |
| Thing (Mojang logo) | Paper + enchanted golden apple |
| Field Masoned | Paper + bricks |
| Bordure Indented | Paper + vines |
| Globe | Bought from master cartographer villagers |
| Snout | Bastion remnant chests |
| Flow | Trial chamber ominous vaults |
| Guster | Trial chamber vaults |
Other uses
- The loom is the shepherd’s workstation. Place it near an unemployed villager to get wool, dye and banner trades; our villager jobs list has the full set.
- It works as fuel (same burn time as a plank) if you have spares.
- Patterned banners go onto shields too. The custom shields guide shows how to copy a loom design onto your shield.
If a design needs an unusual color, check the dye guides, starting with green dye, which you make by smelting cactus.
Common questions
What does a loom do in Minecraft?
It adds patterns to banners. Each pattern takes one dye, and some patterns need a banner pattern item, which is not used up.
How many patterns can a banner have?
Up to 6 pattern layers in survival, on top of the banner's base color.
Which villager uses a loom?
The shepherd. An unemployed villager next to a loom takes the shepherd job and trades wool, dyes, beds and banners.
Sources & verification
Facts on this page are checked against these references and in-game behavior for the stated edition(s). how we verify.
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