If you’re playing Minecraft and want to learn how to make pottery in Minecraft, you’re in the right place. Pottery — in the form of decorated pots — is one of the newer creative elements added to the game, giving players a way to preserve memories, show off artwork, and bring more personality to their builds. Unlike traditional crafting, pottery in Minecraft involves exploring, searching for shards, and then combining those pieces into custom pots you can display or trade.
In this guide, we’ll walk through every step of pottery creation: from finding clay and shards, understanding how pots are assembled, customizing designs, using them effectively in builds, and even how to use pottery in gameplay scenarios. You’ll learn how pottery works in Minecraft and how to make the most creative and memorable pieces possible.
Whether you’re a seasoned player looking to decorate your base or a newcomer exploring advanced crafting features, this guide breaks down everything you need to know about pottery in Minecraft.
What Is Minecraft Pottery and Why It Matters
In Minecraft, pottery takes the form of decorated pots — items that you can place in the world to show off patterns, symbols, and stories. Decorated pots are not just decorations. They can also be used:
- To display unique designs you create
- As markers or landmarks in the world
- As personal mementos of exploration
- To give builds a cultural or artistic feel
Unlike plain blocks, decorated pots can show your personal style through patterns you uncover or craft. They are often found in special structures, which makes seeking them part of the fun.
Core Pottery Terms You Need to Know
Before you learn how to make pottery in Minecraft, you’ll want to understand a few key terms:
- Decorated Pot – The final item you place in the world with custom patterns
- Pottery Shards – Pieces of pattern designs that you collect to make pots
- Loom – A crafting station used to combine shards into decorated pots
- Pattern Table – A block or structure where shards are found
- Villages and Ruins – Natural structures where shards may generate
These concepts form the backbone of the pottery system in Minecraft.
Step 1: Finding Pottery Shards in the World
To create decorated pots, you first need pottery shards. Shards are fragments of decorative patterns that you can assemble later.
Where Shards Generate
Shards can be found in:
- Villages (especially on shelves or in barrels)
- Desert Temples
- Ziggurats in Badlands biomes
- Jungle Temples (rarely)
- Ruined Portals with chest loot
Exploring these structures gives you a chance to collect unique shards.
Types of Shards
Shards come in many different pattern types. You might find shards that match colors or designs from a biome — for example:
- Desert patterns
- Jungle or temple motifs
- Village-style iconography
Each shard has a design that later influences what the decorated pot will look like.
Step 2: Collecting Shards Effectively
Once you find shards, you need to pick them up. Simply walk over them or break the block holding them and they’ll drop into your inventory.
Key tips:
- Don’t sweat duplicates. You can use duplicate shards later to build different design combinations.
- Explore different biomes to get a wider variety of shards.
- Check chests in structures two or three times; some chests respawn patterns when worlds are reset.
The more shards you collect, the more combinations you’ll be able to make.
Step 3: Using a Loom to Make Decorated Pots
To turn shards into a decorated pot, you need a loom, which is a crafting station.
Making or Finding a Loom
If you don’t already have one, you can craft a loom using:
- 2 strings
- 2 wooden planks
- 1 crafting table
Once you have a loom, place it in the world and interact with it to open the pottery interface.
How the Loom Works
When you use a loom:
- Place up to four pottery shards in the loom input slots.
- Add an unfired clay pot (more on making this in a moment).
- Arrange shards in the pattern slots to preview your design.
The loom lets you combine shards to form a new pattern set — and you can experiment with placement to get different looks.
Step 4: Crafting an Unfired Clay Pot
Before you can complete a decorated pot, you need an unfired clay pot. Here’s how to make one:
Materials Needed
- 3 Clay Balls
- Crafting Table
Crafting Process
Clay balls come from breaking clay blocks (usually found near water). Once you have three clay balls, open the crafting table to shape them into a basic pot.
This pot is unfired, meaning it’s not yet ready to become decorated until it goes through the loom process with shards.
Step 5: Combining Shards and Pot in the Loom
Now that you have both shards and an unfired pot:
- Open the loom
- Place the unfired pot in the bottom slot
- Add your pottery shards in the other slots
- Arrange them in the order you want
- Preview the pattern on the pot
- Click to complete the decorated pot
You’ll get a final decorated pot that reflects the pattern combination you chose.
Every single decorated pot you make can be unique, allowing players to express personal creativity.
Design Possibilities and Pattern Combinations
One of the most fun parts of how to make pottery in Minecraft is exploring pattern combinations.
Patterns mix together based on:
- Shard shape
- Shard color
- Shard origin
Some players enjoy making themed pots — like desert-style pots for desert builds or tribal aesthetic pots for jungle temples.
Other players like to experiment with totally unrelated shards to make completely original art.
Using Decorated Pots in Builds
Decorated pots are more than items in your inventory — they’re part of your world.
Display Ideas
- Shelves in houses
- Cultural vignettes or museum builds
- Markers for hidden areas or chests
- Village embellishment
- Personal signature in your base
You can place them on blocks, shelves, or even inside structures as accents.
Trading Pots with Villagers
Pottery can also have utility in Minecraft’s economic systems. In villages, villagers sometimes show interest in decorated pots for trading, bartering, or as part of their cultural lore.
While more decorative than essential for gameplay, villagers reacting to pots gives additional value to your creations.
Tips for Finding More Shards
Since shard scarcity can be frustrating, consider these tips:
Search Multiple Structures
Instead of relying on one village or temple, explore several. Every desert temple, badlands ziggurat, or village has a chance to generate new shard types.
Explore All Directions
Shards are biome-specific sometimes. Traveling north/south or into new biomes broadens the range of shards you encounter.
Loot Chests As You Explore
Don’t ignore chests in structures — pottery shards can show up in chest loot.
Color and Pattern Theory in Minecraft Pottery
Patterns aren’t just decorative — they reflect biome aesthetics and cultural themes.
For example:
- Desert shards may have sandy or warm color schemes
- Jungle shards may show leafy or temple-inspired motifs
Understanding color and pattern combinations can help you plan a design strategy before you start glazing the pot in the loom.
Advanced Pottery Techniques
Once you’ve mastered basic combinations, here are ways to elevate your pottery:
Layered Patterns
Some players choose shards from different themes to create layered or blended designs.
Thematic Sets
Make a series of pots with cohesive patterns to decorate a room or area.
Storytelling With Pots
Place specific designs in key locations to represent lore, history, or milestones in your world.
For example, a pot made from shards collected at a far-flung temple can mark that temple’s location in your home base as a trophy.
Pottery and Minecraft Mods
While Minecraft’s official pottery system is robust, many players expand pottery creation using mods.
Mods can allow:
- New tools for pot shaping
- More decorative freedom
- Custom paintbrush mechanics
- Expanded textures and designs
If you’re playing modded Minecraft, pottery can become even more customizable and complex.
Server-Side Pottery and Creativity
On multiplayer servers, pottery can become part of server culture:
- Player-made pottery galleries
- Auction houses for custom pots
- Competitions for best design
- Shared pattern libraries
Since each pot is unique, server communities often create rules or showcases to celebrate pottery designs and creativity.
Pottery and Minecraft Updates
The pottery feature in Minecraft reflects ongoing updates to the game’s artistic systems. Mojang has been expanding decorative items each year, and pottery stands out because it blends exploration, collection, and crafting into an artistic system.
By learning how to make pottery in Minecraft, you’re opening up a creative space the game increasingly supports.
Common Misconceptions About Pottery in Minecraft
Pottery Is Only Decoration
While primarily decorative, it also ties into exploration — collecting shards means exploring more biomes and structures.
You Need Expensive Tools
All you need is clay, shards, a loom, and a bit of patience.
All Pots Look the Same
Quite the opposite — with enough shards, you can make hundreds of unique combinations.
Pottery Is Hard to Make
The process is straightforward once you know where to find shards and how to use the loom.
Best Strategies for Pottery Collection Runs
If you want to build a great pottery collection:
Plan exploration routes
Include deserts, badlands, jungles, and villages.
Keep a pottery inventory
Don’t fill up with junk — make space for shards.
Build near shard-rich biomes
Having a base near desert temples or badlands increases shard gathering efficiency.
Pottery as a Gameplay Milestone
For many players, completing a library of pottery designs represents:
- Mastery of exploration
- Understanding crafting mechanics
- Creative flair
- A showcase of game progression
Collecting shards from different structures becomes part of the narrative of your world.
Pottery and World Decoration Aesthetics
Pottery adds texture and visual storytelling to Minecraft builds. Whether you’re crafting:
- Rustic village interiors
- Ancient temple ruins
- Modern boutique décor
- Personalized player homes
Decorated pots enhance ambience and reflect your personal touch.
Pottery and Role-Playing Servers
In role-playing servers, pottery can represent:
- Tribal art
- Clan emblems
- Historical artifacts
- Religious symbols
Players often assign meaning to patterns, weaving them into server lore.
Saving and Sharing Pottery Designs
Advanced players like to document their favorite designs:
- Save screenshots
- Write down shard combinations
- Share them with friends or online communities
- Build pattern galleries in server worlds
Documenting designs helps you reuse favorite combinations.
When You Can’t Find More Shards
Sometimes shards are scarce in your region, so:
- Travel to another biome
- Look for specific structures
- Trade with other players on servers
Pottery then becomes part of the adventure.
Frequently Asked Questions About How to Make Pottery in Minecraft
Can you make pottery in survival mode in Minecraft?
Yes, you can make pottery in survival mode. You need to explore the world to collect pottery shards from structures like villages, desert temples, and ruins. Once you gather shards and clay, you can craft and decorate pots using a loom, all within survival gameplay.
What version of Minecraft includes pottery?
Pottery was added in newer updates focused on archaeology and decorative blocks. Make sure your game is updated to a version that includes decorated pots and pottery shards, or you won’t see these features available.
How many shards do you need to make a decorated pot?
You can use up to four pottery shards to create a decorated pot. Each shard contributes to one side of the pot. If you use fewer shards, the remaining sides will appear plain.
Can you reuse pottery shards after making a pot?
No, pottery shards are consumed when you create a decorated pot. Once used, they become part of the finished pot, so you’ll need to find more shards if you want to create additional designs.
Do pottery designs affect gameplay or stats?
Decorated pots are primarily decorative and do not affect player stats, crafting efficiency, or combat. Their value comes from creativity, storytelling, and visual customization rather than gameplay advantages.
Can decorated pots be broken and picked up again?
Yes, decorated pots can be broken and collected, but doing so may cause them to drop as items depending on how they’re broken. Be careful when moving them to avoid losing your designs.
Are pottery shards biome-specific?
Many shards are more likely to appear in certain biomes or structures, which encourages exploration. Visiting a variety of biomes increases your chances of collecting diverse patterns.
Can you automate pottery creation in Minecraft?
Pottery creation itself is manual, since it involves selecting shard patterns in a loom. However, you can automate clay collection and structure exploration indirectly with efficient travel systems and storage setups.
Is pottery useful in multiplayer servers?
Absolutely. On multiplayer servers, pottery is often used for decoration, trade items, landmarks, role-playing elements, and community art displays. Many servers even host pottery design competitions.
Can you customize pottery further after it’s made?
Once a decorated pot is created, its design cannot be changed unless you break it and craft a new one using different shards. Planning your design ahead of time is important.
Conclusion: Why Learning How to Make Pottery in Minecraft Is Worth It
Learning how to make pottery in Minecraft adds a whole new layer of creativity and exploration to your gameplay. Unlike standard crafting recipes, pottery encourages you to travel the world, uncover hidden structures, and collect rare shards that tell a story. Each decorated pot becomes a personal artifact, representing where you’ve been and what you’ve discovered.
Pottery stands out because it blends artistic expression with adventure. Whether you’re decorating a cozy survival base, building a museum of your travels, or adding lore to a role-playing server, pottery gives you tools to personalize your world in a meaningful way. The process is simple enough for beginners but deep enough to keep experienced players engaged.
As Minecraft continues to expand its creative systems, pottery remains one of the most rewarding features for players who enjoy design, storytelling, and exploration. Once you start experimenting with shards and patterns, you’ll quickly realize that pottery isn’t just decoration — it’s a reflection of your journey through the game.
