Do you head to the store at Easter time to get the packaged dye to color your eggs?
Have you ever thought about dyeing your Easter eggs with all-natural dyes or household items to make your basket of eggs genuinely unique?
Two Methods
There are two schools of thought about the best way to dye your eggs with natural dyes, the cold versus the hot method.
The cold method boils the ingredients for thirty minutes or so and then strains and cools the dye before the egg entering. This method usually produces a lighter shade of color.
The hot method boils the eggs along with the ingredients for thirty minutes, giving a much more vibrant and more consistent color.
No matter which method you choose, it is always best to wear gloves. The following dyes work on brown and white eggs both, but there will be a difference in the hue of the color.
Basic Recipe
The basic recipe for dyeing eggs is one-quart water, two tablespoons of white vinegar, and a natural ingredient for color. This recipe works for all colors but brown, and for that color instead of water, use four cups of strong black coffee.
Bring the items to a boil and then lower the heat for the cold method and strain the coloring ingredient from the mixture. Allow it to get to room temperature before dyeing the egg.
In contrast, you boil both the eggs and ingredients for the 30 minutes for the hot method.
Colors Galore
A variety of colors are available from natural ingredients, including yellow and blue to lavender and salmon.
Robin Egg Blue: Add 3 cups of chopped red or purple cabbage and soak for 30 minutes.
Royal Blue: Allow the eggs to sit overnight in the cabbage water mixture.
Orange: Add 4 cups of yellow onion skins and soak for 30 minutes.
Brighter Orange: Allow the eggs to sit overnight in the onion skin mixture.
Sienna: Boil the eggs with the onion-skin mixture for 30 minutes.
Pink: Add 4 cups of chopped beets and soak for 30 minutes. When you take them out, they may have more of a brown tint, but as they dry, they turn pink.
Pale Yellow: Add three tablespoons of turmeric and soak for 30 minutes.
Deep Gold: Boil the eggs in the turmeric mixture for 30 minutes.
Light Brown: Soak the eggs in 4 cups of room temperature coffee for 30 minutes.
Dark Brown: Boil eggs in the 4 cups of black coffee for 30 minutes.
Dye Mixtures
Lavender: Soak eggs in room-temperature beet solution for 30 minutes. Then add to room-temperature cabbage solution for 30 seconds. A second method is mixing one cup of grape juice with one tablespoon white vinegar and soaking eggs until they reached the desired shade.
Chartreuse: Soak eggs in room-temperature turmeric solution for 30 minutes. Follow with room-temperature cabbage solution for 5 seconds.
Salmon: Soak eggs in room-temperature turmeric solution for 30 minutes. Follow with the room-temperature onion-skin solution for 30 minutes.
Fancy Designs
There are numerous ways to use things around the house to add an egg-citing design to your Easter eggs this year. You can use everything from an old tie to flowers and herbs from your garden.
Tie Design
Items Needed:
- · 100% silk tie
- · White cotton fabric
- · Uncooked White Eggs, no cracks
- · White string or rubber bands
- · Stockpot
- · Water
- · White Vinegar
- · Baking sheet
- · Paper Towels
Silk ties with bold designs and bright colors transfer the best onto the egg.
1. Take the tie you have chosen and remove all the inner fabric.
2. Use a seam ripper or small scissors to clip the stitches in the back to lay the fabric flat.
3. Cut the tie fabric to wrap around the egg.
4. Wrap the tie fabric tightly around the egg. The tighter the material, the more vibrant the pattern.
5. Cut a square of the white cotton slightly larger than the tie-covered egg.
6. Secure with string or a rubber band.
Place the eggs gently into the stockpot and cover with cold water until there is an inch of water above the eggs. Add six tablespoons of white vinegar and start on medium heat once the water boils cook for at least twenty minutes.
Remove the eggs carefully from the pot and cool on a paper towel-lined baking sheet. Once they are cool, cut off the fabric from each egg. Wipe off gently any excess moisture and store in the refrigerator.
These eggs CAN NOT be consumed but are for decorative use only.
String, Washi tape, Lace
If you wrap a boiled egg with any of these items before dyeing, it will add an unusual pattern or design to Easter eggs.
Place your item of choice and design to an egg and then soak in the previously mentioned all-natural egg dyes for the recommended time.
Dry on a paper towel until dry and then remove the string, Washi Tape, or lace.
To add even more colorful design, you can dip the egg into the same color for a shorter time to have a lighter hue.
Silhouettes
Here is a way to use even more of the things from your house and yard. You can use a variety of items, including flowers, herbs, and leaves to make a silhouette Easter egg.
Gather what you would like to use and make sure they to cut to a small sprig or size. Take egg whites and lightly paint the back of the item. Set aside to dry for ten minutes.
Cut a nylon stocking into five-inch tubes.
Carefully place the herb or flower on the egg and then place the nylon tube over the egg, tying both ends tightly, so the herb stays in place.
Place in the cold method dye solution for the required time and then place on a paper-towel-lined baking sheet. Blot dry with a paper towel and then cut open the nylon sock.
Very carefully, peel the item off the egg to reveal a beautiful silhouette.
Try out some of these tips for an all-natural twist on dyeing your Easter eggs this year!
We would love to see your pictures.