Wash and rinse eggs before dyeing to remove any oil or coating, which may prevent the dye from taking.

Boil eggs 3 hours, if you wish to keep them indefinately. If the eggs do not crack, over time the contents will dry inside the shell!

Otherwise, place the eggs in your pan, cover with COLD water, adding a tablespoon of vinegar per gallon of water. (If the eggs should crack the vinegar usually keeps them from floating out of the shell).

Bring to a boil over high heat and then turn heat down to medium. Cook 10 minutes and then plunge eggs into cold water. This should make them easier to peel later and will stop the cooking process. The reason the insides of eggs end up with a green ring around the yolk and are often very dry is from being over cooked.

Boil the plant material until you have a good rich color. Strain the dye, discard the plant material, and return the dye to the pot. Use an enamel or Teflon-coated pot for dyeing. Metals such as tin, aluminum, and iron will change the color of the dye.

Dye your eggs and allow to dry. You will have to test the color by lifting the eggs and replacing until the desirted color is acheived.

After your eggs dry, use a vegetable oil and soft cloth to polish them.

Remember that natural dyes can also be toxic. The safety of the following dyes was verified through the Poison Control Center.

Boiling a single onion skin with a few eggs will give you a soft orange-do this when you are cooking them in a separate pot to avoid over cooking.

Orange to red/brown is obtained from onionskins. Gather the dry outer skins of onions. It takes several cups of skins. Cover with water and boil for about 30 minutes. Add the eggs. Watch the color. You can dye various hues of orange to brown depending on length of time in the dye.

One half teaspoon of turmeric gives a sunny yellow.

Another way to obtain a clear, bright yellow is from the inner bark of apple branches. Prune a few small branches (not limbs) from an apple tree. Scrape the bark into a pot. Cover with water and boil for about 30 minutes. To roughly 3/4 cup of bark and 2 quarts of water, add 1 scant teaspoon of alum. The alum will bring out the yellow dye.

Beet juice and vinegar make pink

A soft, robin's egg blue is obtained by boiling red cabbage. Slice the cabbage. Cover with water and boil for 30 minutes. Let the cabbage dye cool. This dye will look purple, but will dye the eggs blue.  NOTE: Cabbage dye does not work when it is very hot. It will only dye the eggs when it cools.

Concord grape juice -lavender/gray

Ground coffee-creamy brown

Cinnamon powder-light mahogany

Black tea-reddish/tan

Carrot tops-soft gold

Blackberries-plum

Blueberries-deep blue

Paprika-light orange

Spinach-soft green

Cranberry juice-pink

Raspberries-pink

Yellow delicious apple peels-light green-gold

Cumin-light yellow

You can rub blueberries and cranberries right on the shells for soft blues and pink. Blend them for another pretty result.

Using Natural Dyes for Eggs

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