Dyeing Easter Eggs with Natural Plant Dyes

Selasa, 10 Maret 2020

Using natural ingredients results in pretty plant-dyed Easter Eggs.

I have dyed earth-tone eggs for years using natural ingredients and also tried marbling eggs using olive oil and vinegar. I loved both results.

But I really love the pastel colors of these eggs. They just scream "spring" and Easter.

These eggs were all dyed using natural ingredients. No commercial dyes or color kits. All you need is water, white vinegar and some vegetables. I absolutely love the soft pastel shades that this method achieved.

To get these pale pastel Easter colors, you need to use white eggs. Our ducks lays us piles and piles of white eggs each spring, so that works out perfectly.

But there are also lots of breeds of chickens that lay white eggs, including leghorn, andalusian, silkie, ancona, hamburg and campine.

If you use brown eggs, try to choose the lightest shades of brown and realize that your finished eggs will look different.

If you want to try dyeing pastel Easter eggs for yourself, here's what you do.

Dyeing Easter Eggs with Natural Plant Dyes

To Get Started |

Put a teakettle of water on to boil. While you are waiting, measure 2 Tablespoons of white vinegar into each of five 16 oz. glasses, coffee cups, small bowls or other containers.

You'll also need some eggs. I used uncooked eggs, but you can also use hard cooked or blown out eggs.

Pro Tip: If you don't need your eggs cooked, don't wash them before dyeing them. The dye will adhere better to the bloom on the eggshell, so leaving that intact can result in more vibrant egg colors.

Here's what you Need

For pinkish purple eggs - 1/4 Cup shredded fresh beets

For peach eggs - Papery peels from two yellow onions

For yellow eggs - 1 Tablespoon turmeric

For lime green eggs - 1/4 Cup chopped purple cabbage and 1 teaspoon turmeric

For blue eggs - 1/4 Cup chopped purple cabbage

Add the ingredients above to each of the five cups.

What you Do |

Add 2 cups of boiling water to each container and stir to mix, filling each container to the top.

Let sit until the contents cool to room temperature, then strain the liquid.

Then place 2-3 eggs into each cup and pour the liquid over .

Let the eggs sit for 30 minutes. If you're using blown out eggs, you will need to put something on top of the egg to keep it submerged. Another egg or a heavy spoon works well.

After 30 minutes, carefully take each egg out of the container and check the color. You can leave the eggs in the liquid overnight, refrigerated, for the most vibrant colors.

Once the eggs are the colors you wish, carefully remove the eggs from the liquid.

Set each egg into an egg carton to dry completely. You can reuse your liquid several times, dyeing a few eggs in each color.

Setting up your Egg Drying Area

While your eggs are dyeing, you'll need to set up a drying area for your eggs. You can use an empty egg carton or you can just set the eggs on paper towels to dry.

When the eggs are completely dry, rub a bit of coconut, vegetable or olive oil onto the shell surface using a paper towel and wipe off any excess. This will make those eggs shine!