If you’ve ever made a castle in Minecraft, you’ll know how important it is to decorate it with banners. There are several unique banner patterns you can obtain in the game, but you’ll also need a way to craft these special blocks. That’s where a Loom comes. Here’s how you can make a Loom in Minecraft and how you can use one.
Where Can You Find a Loom in Minecraft
Finding a Loom in a Shepherd’s house
For starters, Looms can naturally generate in villages, as long as there’s a shepherd there. Now, while I’ve created and traversed several worlds in Minecraft, I can’t remember the last time I found one with a shepherd. So, naturally-generated Looms are very scarce, compared to other job post blocks, like composters.
That’s why you’ll need to craft one if you want to get your hands on those sweet, sweet banners.
How to Craft a Loom in Minecraft
Loom Crafting Recipe
To craft a Loom in Minecraft, you’ll only need a few materials, as you can see in the crafting recipe above. In fact, all the items you’ll have to obtain are the following:
- 2 Wooden Planks
- 2 Pieces of String
All four items are very easy to get since spiders will drop 1-2 pieces when killed, and wooden planks are… well, they’re the first block you’ll craft when you join a new Minecraft world. Thankfully, you won’t need any specific type of planks to make a Loom.
How to Use a Loom in Minecraft
Now that you have a Loom in your inventory, it’s time to learn how to use it. Looms in Minecraft have two primary uses: they can turn a villager into a shepherd and create specific banners.
Turn a Villager Into a Shepherd
When an unemployed villager interacts with a Loom, they’ll become a shepherd. Shepherds aren’t the most helpful in the game, but they’re a great source of emeralds if you happen to have a sheep farm. That’s because you can exchange 18 Wool for an emerald right off the bat.
Plus, if you don’t want to make a painting yourself, an Expert shepherd will trade 3 of them with you for just 2 emeralds.
Applying Banner Patterns to Banners
Applying Simple Patterns
Since plain banners are pretty boring, you can use a Loom to give them different shapes and colors. To do so, you’ll have to interact with the Loom, which will, in turn, open up a UI similar to a crafting table or furnace.
Adding a Banner Pattern
Then, all you have to do is add your banner to its designated slot, select your preferred dye, and pick one of the patterns. If you have a unique Banner Pattern item, you can put this on the third slot, as you can see above, and give your pattern a new look.
Conclusion
And that’s how easy it is to make a Loom in Minecraft. While this is certainly not the most helpful item in the game, it can be used to get some lovely decorations for your base. What’s your favorite Banner Pattern? Let us know over on the Minecraft Forum!