Natural Easter Egg Dyes

[Hinotori]

Decided I was finally going to try natural dyes for eggs this year. Natural dyes can be scratched off if not careful until fully dried. I put a coffee filter on bottom of bowls I used for dying so that their wasn't a white spot where the egg sat on bottom.

I do not have any white layers so all color is over the base blue eggs from my ameraucana.

I used four different items to dye the eggs and got five colors.

ETA: wash the bloom off eggs before trying to dye them.

From left to right - cooked in yellow onion skin, dyed in onion skin dye, turmeric, beet, red cabbage. All dyes, but tumeric, have 1 tablespoon of vinegar added per cup of water.

For the yellow onion skin color of red/brown you start with raw eggs unlike the others. I layed down a layer of onion skin then wrapped onion skin around and between them then I filled the pot with more. I filled to cover with water and added the vinegar. Cooked for 20 minutes as instructions I found said to.

For the orange color, I strained the liquid from the onion skins and put hard cooked eggs in it for 10 minutes.

Turmeric is 1 tablespoon per cup of water. Simmer for 10 minutes. Do not strain. Put hard cooked egg in while watching carefully. Pull when desired color is achieved. Only a minute or so is needed. Soaking egg in vinegar for a few moments after will brighten the yellow if it's turned too mustard brown.

The pinkish red from the beets turned out a bit splotchy. Just a warning that it seemed to bubble in spots on the eggs. I cubed 2 cups of beets and covered 2.5 cups of water. Bring to boil, then lower heat to simmer about 45 minutes. Strain. Add 1 tablespoon vinegar per cup of liquid. Soak eggs for about an hour. Turn occasionally to help even the color.

The deep blue is from red cabbage. I simmered 2 cups of shredded red cabbage in 2.5 cups of water for 1 hour. Strain. Add 1 tablespoon vinegar per cup of liquid. Soak eggs for 2 - 2.5 hours. Turn occasionally to help even dying.


I cooked one of my olive eggs just to see what color it could turn out. I was very happy with it.

Original egg look

After cabbage dye

My pretty egg basket

 

[sumi]

This is so cool and interesting! Thank you for sharing!

 

[Hinotori]

Edited post because I forgot to say to wash off the bloom before attempting to dye eggs.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

I like it! Thanks so much for giving us the details!

 

[Hinotori]

After I posted the egg basket picture on Facebook, I was told that hibiscus flowers make an almost black dye. I have plenty of dried ones because I like hibiscus tea and had also tried it for fabric dying. (Turns out light grey and not lightfast).

So 3 cups of water and one cup of dried hibiscus flowers. I simmered 30 minutes then strained. Came up with 2 cups dye. I added 2 tablespoons vinegar and put the eggs in for 2 hours, turning occasionally. It has a tendency to splotchy like the beet. Very careful handling to remove from bath. Color will change and darken as it dries.

 

[bambi]

What a beautiful basket of eggs. Thank you for taking your time and the great explanation you gave.

 

[Mini Horses]

AWESOME looking eggs!! Thank you for the nice "how to", too. It is time consuming, not a kid thing. Heck, I'd have 1/2 the kitchen in color by the time I got done.


But I love yours. I'd almost cry when they cracked them!

 

[CrealCritter]

Very cool

 

[wyoDreamer]

I like how intense the colors get. Very pretty blue eggs to start with also.

 

[Marianne]

Nice!!
Years ago, a neighbor would hard boil colored eggs from various breeds of chickens and give them to my kids. lol They weren't dyed at all, and my kids loved that the Easter bunny left them over at her house every year.