Black dye is one of the most useful colors in Minecraft for building, since it turns wool, concrete, terracotta, glass, and more into sleek black blocks. The good news is that the easy way to make it is something you probably already have lying around after a swim: an ink sac. This guide covers both ways to get black dye and what to color with it.
This guide explains the quick ink-sac method, the rarer wither-rose method, and everything black dye can color. Everything here is confirmed in the current 2026 version of Minecraft (26.2).
Quick answer: put 1 ink sac (dropped by squid) into the crafting grid to get 1 black dye. There is no shaped recipe. The only other source is a wither rose, which also makes 1 black dye but is much harder to get.
Black Dye at a Glance
| Method | Ingredient | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|
| Ink sac (easy) | 1 ink sac from a squid | Easy |
| Wither rose (hard) | 1 wither rose | Very hard |
| Yield | 1 black dye per ingredient | — |
Method 1: Ink Sac (The Easy Way)
This is how nearly everyone makes black dye:
- Find and kill a squid. Squids spawn in oceans, rivers, and other open water, so they are easy to find.
- Squids drop ink sacs when killed.
- Place 1 ink sac anywhere in the crafting grid (no pattern needed) to get 1 black dye.
One quick warning: glow squid do not work. They drop a glow ink sac, which is used for glowing signs and item frames, not black dye. You need a regular squid.
Method 2: Wither Rose (The Hard Way)
There is a second source, but it is far more trouble:
- A wither rose placed in the crafting grid also makes 1 black dye.
- The catch is that wither roses only appear when the Wither kills a mob. That means summoning the dangerous Wither boss and letting it kill something, which is a lot of effort for one dye.
Because of that, the wither rose is really only a black-dye source if you already have some. For everyday use, stick with squid ink.
What to Color With Black Dye
Black dye colors a huge range of blocks and items, including:
- Building blocks: wool, concrete powder, stained glass, terracotta, and glazed terracotta.
- Furniture and light: beds, candles, and banners for patterns.
- Gear: leather armor. Our how to dye leather armor guide shows the exact steps.
- Storage: shulker boxes.
Black is also a base color for mixing. It combines with white dye to make gray, and it is used in several other dye recipes, so a stack of it is always handy.
Frequently Asked Questions
Place one ink sac, dropped by squid, into the crafting grid. It makes one black dye with no set pattern. A wither rose also makes black dye, but it is much harder to obtain.
From squid. Squids spawn in oceans, rivers, and other bodies of water and drop ink sacs when killed. Each ink sac crafts into one black dye.
No. Glow squid drop a glow ink sac, which is used for glowing signs and item frames. You need a regular squid’s ink sac for black dye.
Only the wither rose, and that is a special case, because wither roses just make dye directly and only drop when the Wither kills a mob. There is no common black flower for it.
Wool, concrete powder, glass, terracotta, beds, candles, banners, leather armor, and shulker boxes, among others. It is also used to mix gray dye with white.
Not at all, if you use squid. Ink sacs are common and craft one-to-one into black dye. The wither rose method is the only hard one.
Black dye is easy the moment you find water: hunt a few squid, grab their ink sacs, and craft. Keep a stack on hand for building and dyeing, and skip the wither rose unless you happen to have one. Next, put your dye to use with our how to make green dye guide for another key building color.
