How To Naturally Dye Easter Eggs.
/Want to know how to make pretty pastel-dyed Easter eggs? By making a natural dye using a few simple fresh vegetables, fruits and spices. No shop-bought dye needed.
From beetroot to Tumeric, black tea to blackberries, you can make homemade Easter egg dye out of things you probably already have in the kitchen.
Whether you want coloured eggs to decorate for an Easter lunch or as a fun Easter activity.
For more egg decorating ideas, check out this post on DIY Easter Egg Dye Using Food Colouring.
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Natural Dyed Eggs.
Have you ever dyed eggs before? Growing up painting and decorating eggs was one of my favourite Easter craft activities but up until recently, I’d never tried dyeing my own eggs. Turns out it’s surprisingly easy and fun to do.
Of course, there are no store-bought dyes here. Just a few natural ingredients from around the house. While you may not get the same bright colours as you do with artificial dyes, you do get some beautiful pastel colours like these pale yellows (Tumeric), lilacs (blackberries) and pinks (beetroot).
Homemade Dye For Easter Eggs.
This Easter egg dye recipe couldn’t be easier. All it takes are some white hard-boiled eggs and a little patience. Once your eggs have cooled to room temperature you soak the eggs in the dye until they turn the desired colour and place them on some paper towels to dry.
For paler eggs leave them for a couple of hours, for darker eggs let them soak overnight. The longer you soak them, the darker your eggs become. I left mine for eight hours but you can play around with how long you leave your eggs in the dye to see what kind of colours you end up with.
Tips and Tricks:
Use white eggs for a paler pastel colour and brown eggs for a richer end colour.
When boiling your eggs make sure they’re at room temperature. Boiling cold eggs can lead to cracking.
Make sure the bowl you use is deep enough to cover the eggs when filled with the dye.
Adding a small amount of vinegar helps make the colours brighter and stain the eggs better.
For shiny eggs polish them with some vegetable oil and a paper towel.
Store dyed eggs will in the fridge to keep fresh. They should last around a week.
Supplies:
A Saucepan
A Large Glass Bowl (you don’t want anything that will stain)
A Vegetable Masher (for the blackberry dye)
An Old Towel or Paper Towels
White Eggs
Natural Dye Ingredients (see below)
Ingredients for Natural Egg Dye:
Hard Boiled Eggs
Tumeric Dye: Yellow Eggs:
1 Quart/Litre Water
5 Tablespoons Turmeric
1 Tablespoon Vinegar
Blackberry Dye: Lilac/Grey Eggs:
1 Quart/Litre Water
4 Cups Blackberries
1 Cup/250 ml Vinegar
Beetroot: Pink Eggs.
1 Quart/Litre Water
2 Medium Beetroots
1 Tablespoon Vinegar
Tea: Orange/Brown Eggs.
1 Quart Water
4 Teabags
1 Tablespoon Vinegar
How to dye Easter eggs with natural dye.
1. Add the water and your fruit, vegetable or spice to a saucepan. Bring to the boil and simmer for around 30 minutes (10 minutes for the Turmeric).
For the blackberries bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes before mashing them with a spoon or vegetable masher.
For the beetroot remove the greenery and stems. Rinse well before cutting into pieces.
Top Tip:
Be careful with the Tumeric as it can stain your work surface in a heartbeat. Make sure to lay an old towel underneath to catch any spills.
2. Strain the liquid through a fine-mesh sieve and into a bowl.
3. Add the vinegar to the remaining mixture and leave to cool to room temperature.
It’s important to use the correct amount of vinegar as it helps the eggshell absorb the colour. Too little and the egg won’t dye. Too much and the vinegar can eat away at the shell and dissolve it.
4. Lower the eggs into the mixture using a slotted spoom and leave them to set in the dye.
I left these eggs for around 8 hours. For a richer colour try leaving them overnight.
5. Remove any foam from the top of the dye and gently remove your eggs.
6. Place them on paper towels to dry.
Flip them over after a few minutes to dry on the other side.
7. Once dry display them in a cute origami egg cup or maybe an easy Easter basket.
Decorating Eggs.
The lovely thing about using natural dye is the variation in colour and pattern you get. They come out with speckles and gorgeous mottled pastel colours.
You can try dyeing your eggs for different amounts of time to get shades. And don’t be afraid to add stickers or wax designs to add some pattern to your eggs. You could even use flowers like with these colourful eggs from Freutcake.
To add a floral design place the leaf or flower onto your egg. It helps to slightly wet the flower first to stop it from moving around.
Hold it in place by wrapping around some tights or pantyhose around and tying the end of the tights with an elastic band. Lower into the homemade dye and leave to set.
Make sure the eggs are fully dry before your remove the decoration. This will help reduce the number of scuff marks on the eggs.
They make a beautiful Spring centrepiece for an Easter brunch, don’t you think? Place them in a simple wooden bowl as I did and display them on a table or pretty white tiered tray. You can even add some cute Spring-themed tray decor to make it really special.
Have you ever tried dyeing eggs for Easter? I’d love to know what plants and vegetables you’ve used to make your natural dyes!
Looking for more homemade Easter egg dye recipes? Make sure to check out my post on how to make Easter egg dye using food colouring.
