How to Make Custom Shields in Minecraft With Banners

To make a custom shield, put a plain shield and a banner together in a crafting grid. The banner is used up and its design appears on the front of the shield. This works in both Java and Bedrock, in the 2x2 inventory grid or a crafting table, and the shield keeps its durability and enchantments.

So the real work is the banner. Design that first, then apply it.

What you need for a custom shield

• A plain shield. Six planks in a Y shape around one iron ingot. Our shield recipe page has the grid.
• A finished banner. Six wool of one color and a stick make a plain banner; see how to make a banner. The banner’s base color becomes the shield’s base color.
• A loom, if you want patterns. It’s two string over two planks, and it saves a lot of dye compared with crafting patterns by hand. The loom guide explains the interface.

Designing the banner

Put the banner, a dye and (optionally) a banner pattern item in the loom, pick a pattern, and take the result. Repeat to stack layers. A few habits make better shields:

• Think small. A shield shows the banner squeezed onto a smaller face, so fine detail gets lost. Bold shapes such as crosses, stripes, bends and borders read best.
• Use contrast. Dark base, light pattern (or the reverse). Two or three colors look sharper than six.
• Use pattern items for logos. Creeper, skull, flower, globe, snout, flow and guster patterns add icons that plain dye patterns can’t make. Most come from crafting paper with a specific item or from loot.
• Save a copy. Before applying, copy the banner by crafting it with a blank banner of the same base color. Then you can make matching shields for a whole team.

Applying it

1. Open a crafting table or your inventory grid.
2. Place the shield and the banner in any two slots.
3. Take the patterned shield.

A shield that already shows a design won’t take a second banner, so check the banner before you craft. If you change your mind, the easiest fix is a new shield; they’re cheap.

Why bother

A custom shield fights exactly like a plain one. People make them for identity. On an SMP, a shared shield crest tells you at a glance who’s on your team. In single player, matching your shield to your base banner is just satisfying.

If this is your long-term shield, put Mending and Unbreaking on it before you apply the design, or at any time after; the pattern stays through anvil work. More crafting and gear guides are on the guides hub.