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How to Dye Leather Armor in Minecraft

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Full set of red dyed leather armor displayed on an armor stand in a grassy Minecraft forest biome.

Leather Armor is the only armor set that can be fully customized with colors in Minecraft, allowing players to create unique looks, represent clans, or simply wear their favorite color. This guide will detail how to perform the dyeing process in the two main editions of the game.

What You Need

Before starting, make sure you have the following items:

Leather Armor: Pieces (Helmet, Chestplate, Leggings, Boots, or Horse Armor) made of leather.

Player holding a brown leather tunic in a snowy Minecraft biome, showing the original item color.

Dye: Any of the 16 basic dyes in the game (Red, Blue, Yellow, etc.).

First-person view of a player holding red dye in a snowy Minecraft landscape, ready for use.

Dyeing in Minecraft: Java Edition

In the Java Edition, the process is the most straightforward, using the Crafting Table.

Step-by-Step

Open the Crafting Table: Interact with your Crafting Table.

The crafting menu interface in Minecraft, open and empty, ready to start the dyeing process.

Position the Items: Place a piece of Leather Armor into any slot of the crafting grid.

Minecraft Java Edition crafting grid showing a Leather Tunic and Red Dye placed, before crafting.

Add the Dye: Place the desired Dye into another slot of the grid. The dyed item will appear in the output slot. Take it out and repeat the process for the other armor pieces.

Minecraft Java Edition crafting grid showing the resulting red Dyed Leather Tunic ready to be taken from the output slot.

Color Mixing Tip

In the Java Edition, you can mix dyes with the armor to create custom colors. Simply place multiple dyes and the leather piece in the crafting grid. The final color will be an average of the mixed colors.

The crafting grid in Minecraft Java Edition showing a Leather Tunic and multiple dyes (Red, Yellow, Blue) to create a custom blended color.

Dyeing in Minecraft: Bedrock Edition

In the Bedrock Edition, the process is more interactive, using the Cauldron and Water.

Additional Items Needed

Cauldron: Crafted with 7 Iron Ingots in a 'U' shape.

The crafting recipe for a Cauldron in Minecraft, showing 7 Iron Ingots in a 'U' shape.

Water Bucket: To fill the Cauldron.

Player inventory screen showing a Water Bucket in the hotbar, ready to fill the Cauldron in Minecraft Bedrock Edition.

Step-by-Step

Place and Fill the Cauldron: Place the Cauldron on the ground and use a Water Bucket to fill it (right-click/action button).

A Cauldron placed on the snowy ground in Minecraft, filled with clean Water, ready for the dyeing process in Bedrock Edition.

Dye the Water: With the desired dye in your hand, use it on the Cauldron. The water will change to the color of the dye. The Cauldron now holds enough dye to color several pieces.

A Cauldron on the snow in Minecraft Bedrock Edition, with the water now colored red after adding dye.

Dye the Armor: Hold the piece of Leather Armor you want to dye and use it on the Cauldron. The armor piece will be dyed, and the dye level in the Cauldron will decrease. Repeat the process for the remaining pieces.

First-person view of a player holding a Leather Tunic, ready to use it on the red-dyed Cauldron to color the armor.

Economy Tip

In Bedrock, a single dye can color up to six armor pieces per Cauldron, making it a more efficient method for dyeing full sets.

An empty Cauldron on the ground after being used, with a player holding a piece of red dyed leather armor, indicating the process is complete.

Removing the Dye

If you dislike the color or want to change it, you can remove the dye from any piece of Leather Armor.

Single Method for Both Editions (Java and Bedrock)

Fill a Cauldron with Water: Place a Cauldron and fill it only with Water (no dye).

A Cauldron placed on the snowy ground in Minecraft, filled with clean Water, ready for the dyeing process in Bedrock Edition.

Clean the Armor: Hold the Dyed Leather Armor piece and use it on the Cauldron. The color will be removed, and the piece will revert to its original leather color.

A Cauldron filled with clean water, used to remove the color from a piece of dyed leather armor (held by the player, returning to brown).

The ability to personalize Leather Armor with dyes adds a layer of roleplaying and style to Minecraft, allowing you to stand out in your world or server.
Caio Vinicius

About Caio Vinicius

Founder and writer of the Games Catalogue blog. I have a particular interest in horror and action games, as well as a touch of science fiction.

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