To make a shield in Minecraft, you need the following materials:

• Six wooden planks (any type of wood planks will do)
• One iron ingot

Then, follow these steps at a crafting table:

1. Place the iron ingot in the top-center slot of the 3x3 crafting grid.
2. Arrange the six wooden planks in a "Y" shape around the iron ingot:
   • Place one plank in the middle-left slot.
   • Place one plank in the middle-right slot.
   • Place one plank in the center slot (middle row, middle column).
   • Place one plank in the bottom-left slot.
   • Place one plank in the bottom-center slot.
   • Place one plank in the bottom-right slot.

This arrangement will craft a shield

. Once crafted, you can equip the shield in your off-hand slot and use it to block attacks by right-clicking (or the equivalent control on your platform)

. Additionally, you can customize your shield by applying a banner pattern. To do this, craft a banner with wool and a stick, dye it as you like, then combine the banner with the shield on the crafting table to transfer the banner's design to your shield