Natural Dyeing: Fresh & Wooden Eggs
Springtime brings a little bit of magic in every day - an awakening from a long winter sleep. The ground swells as the buds do too, flowers bursting up from the thawing earth; colors painting the landscape that has been neutral for months.
Celebrating the return of Spring
The celebration of spring takes many forms. One such celebration is Ostara, the pagan celebration of the vernal equinox that has many parallels to the contemporary Easter traditions that many have come to know. The vernal equinox falls somewhere between March 19th and March 23rd depending on the year, when the Sun is exactly above the Equator and day and night are equal in length. The name Ostara is thought to have been derived from the spring goddess named Ēostre, who brings renewal and rebirth after the cold and harsh winter. Amongst the symbols of fertility and rebirth, it is no wonder that the egg has long been used, as it quite literally brings forth new life in the early spring days. On our homestead, we welcome the sounds of baby birds hatching in nests throughout the treed landscape and on homesteads across the country, homesteaders are eager to welcome new baby chicks to their flocks of chickens, ducks and more. It is thought that the Easter basket was inspired by the bird nests - the perfect pair for spring!
When creating decorations in our home, I often find inspiration from the natural world around us. The materials that surround us, both outside and in our homes are full of textures and colors that are impossible to replicate synthetically. Even better, is when a decoration can be reused or composted when we’re done displaying it; it’s the ultimate love note to our natural world when we can enjoy the beauty of nature and respect it throughout, by creating little or no waste. That’s what I love so much about this simple natural dye project for decorating eggs! This method can be used for both fresh eggs and wooden eggs, though there are a few variations that work better than others for the wooden eggs - which we’ll share in further detail below. All of the scraps from the dyeing process can be composted when complete, and if you’re using wooden eggs, they can be enjoyed for many years to come!
Preparing the eggs
While there is very little that needs to be done to prepare wooden eggs, when using fresh hen eggs there are a few more steps to ensure successful dyeing. You can use either white or brown (or any color, really) eggs, though the base color will affect the final color of your dyed eggs.
Choose eggs that are at least 1 week “old” as they will be easier to peel in the long run! This is especially relevant if you’re sourcing your eggs locally, as they tend to be much fresher than store-bought eggs.
For fresh eggs, wash the exterior of the egg with a gentle cloth to remove the natural barrier that exists on the eggshell, which will allow the pigments to better adhere to the eggs.
Clockwise from top left: Red cabbage, yellow onion peel, turmeric, black beans, un-dyed natural egg. All eggs shown have been sealed with our Beeswax Cutting Board Conditioner - available in our shop!
Extracting colors from nature
We can extract a wide range of colors from ingredients that are found in our kitchens! It’s a great way to use up scraps and is especially fun for our youngest helpers. My daughter couldn’t believe her eyes when I pulled a wooden egg from a bath of black bean water and it was purple! Here are some of our favorite colors to use for fresh and wooden hen eggs.
For Fresh Eggs: Place eggs in a small sauce pan and cover with 1 quart of water, 1 tablespoon of salt, 2 tablespoons of vinegar, and 2-4 tablespoons of the respective fruit, vegetable, or spice (to create the color). Bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer and cover for 30 minutes. For a deeper color, leave eggs in dye bath and allow to set for 30 minutes or more. Remove and allow to dry - we use our empty egg carton as a perfect drying rack!
For Wooden Eggs: Place 1 quart of water and 2-4 tablespoons of the respective fruit, vegetable, or spice (to create the color) in a small sauce pan. Bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer and cover for 30 minutes. Remove from heat and strain liquid into a heat-proof jar, reserving the plant materials. Because wood floats in water, use either the food scraps from making the dye bath to keep the egg submerged or allow the egg to float and simply rotate the egg periodically until the desired color is achieved. After soaking in the dye pigment, allow wooden eggs to dry slowly to avoid cracking; We used our egg carton as a drying rack and put them in a spot out of direct heat or air flow, and they took about 2 days (with periodic rotating) to dry completely. Note: the color will lighten as it dries, but can be made more vivid by using a mineral oil or a cutting-board wax on the wood once it’s dried!
Now for the fun part:
Reds - Red or purple onion skins make a beautiful red dye pigment.
Orange - Yellow onion skins yield a bright golden orange color.
Yellows & Gold - Turmeric! The easiest dye of all for eggs - and a little goes a long ways.
Greens - This is arguably the hardest color we tried to achieve. While many sources suggest parsley or spinach for dyeing green eggs, we didn’t have any success. I would instead recommend a double-dye starting with turmeric and followed by the red cabbage dye bath below (without vinegar).
Blues & Purples - Red cabbage can be used to create a range of blues and purples. Without vinegar, the color is more blueish purple. With vinegar added, a bright fuchsia! For wooden eggs, black beans can be used to create a nice blueish purple too - simply soak a handful of beans in a pint of water over night, then place your wooden egg in the dye bath and allow it to soak for about 30 minutes.
Share the love!
If you’re on social media, be sure to tag your photos with #MyPerennialHomestead - we would love to see what colors you create. Want to learn more about natural egg dyeing? Join us on Saturday, March 13th, 2021 with Lesley Darling Fibers for a virtual workshop on natural egg dyeing! The workshop will also be recorded and shared after - to register, visit: https://lesleydarling.bigcartel.com/easter-egg-dyeing-workshop
