now, my disclaimer to this post is that i originally attempted to make natural dyes for easter eggs two years ago and none of my previous trials were really successful. they produced less than vibrant colors that didn’t stuck, until this year. this activity is really not made for the impatient or the perfectionist, two characteristics which I can exhibit for time to time, especially during Aries season…and I think my previous failures were due to my lack of patience. the trick I found was letting them sit overnight in the refrigerator and letting them dry before unwrapping. as I am all for kitchen experiments and slightly stubborn, my previous failures did not put me off from trying again, and i was happy i did.

rewind

a couple years ago, with a two and one year old under foot. I made all the dyes, spinach for green, blueberries for purples, beets for pink, turmeric for yellow, red cabbage for blue, and that was a lot of work to make the dyes and not have them turn out, I was slightly traumatized and put off from natural dyes.

the present

so this year I kept it simple and made three colors: yellow with turmeric, pink with beet powder (since its COVID-19 and we didn’t have beets, I didnt want to send aj to the store just for beets, so I used beetroot powder. I ended up adding some red wine because the beetroot powder wasn’t as dark for contrast, although it was a lovely pink, it would have shown up better on a white egg) and rich brown with used coffee grounds, like ones that made my morning cup of.

using stark white eggs would have produced more vibrant colors, but our ladies lay a variety of light pink to brown eggs and that is what we used and i ended up loving the muted tones. I chose these colors because I was less concerned about bright colors and wanted more of a deep contrast for the botanical prints.

For our botanicals we collected yarrow, violet leaves, dandelions, squill, and nettle leaves. all the spring things popping up in our garden.

I called up our 80 something year old neighbor, Charlotte, and told her I had a strange inquiry for her, if she was willing. I asked if she had any pantyhose or nylons she was looking to get rid of. She said she sure did and would deliver them to my mailbox. She called right before walking over and asked if I’d hurry to pick them up before the mailman came to deliver so he wouldn’t get any wrong ideas.

Using cut pieces of nylon and saved twist ties from produce, I placed the botanicals onto the boiled egg, gently place the nylon over it, twisted the back using a twist tie to secure it.

natural dye recipe

ingredients

2 cups water (or enough to cover all your plant material)

1 tablespoon of vinegar

dye materials of your choice (yellow onion skins, paprika, turmeric, spinach or nettle, red cabbage, hibiscus tea, beets or beetroot powder, coffee grounds and red wine) this is where using what you have on hand is a wonderful option.

directions

bring water and materials to a boil in separate pots. simmering for 15-30 minutes. stirring occasionally. turn off the heat, and let cool. once cool, strain the dye with a sieve into a wide mouth mason jars or bowls and mix in the vinegar.

place your used materials in the compost.

now you can add your wrapped hard boiled eggs to the dyes and let sit 4-6 hours for lighter tones and overnight in the refrigerator. In the morning, and this part is key, once you remove the egg from the dye and let sit an hour or so or until dried before handling. This ensure the color does not rub off and sets in. Then unwrap and see what is waiting underneath.

I also found in my kitchen experiment that boiling the eggs in the dye for 15-20 minutes before letting it sit overnight resulted in the deepest hue. There was one egg I tested with no flower or leaf and that color was the most vibrant. Next time, we might try a mix of plain, colored eggs along with the botanical prints for some variety. this year, dandelion and violet leaves produced our favorite patterns.

I hope this guidance helps a bit. I think its a really fun activity for spring especially now we are spending more time at home. You won’t get perfect eggs but you will get whimsical and lovely nature inspired eggs. I followed the tutorial saved in the highlights of Molly Gayle of Squash Blossom Vintage as well as Erin Boyle’s from Reading My Tea Leaves post for botanical eggs and the Kitchn’s Natural Dye Recipe.