One of my favorite seasons is here! Spring represents new beginnings, warmer weather, and beautiful flowers. And of course with Spring comes one of my favorite holidays as well: Easter! I may be an adult but I get excited about Easter egg dyeing as much as any kid. On Easter, it’s traditional in some parts of Serbia to eat an egg first thing in the morning. We also use to Easter eggs in a game; who can crack who’s egg first. The one with the whole egg by the end of the round wins! If you’ve ever seen this game take place you know it can get pretty intense. I speak from experience.
Every year I like to try new techniques and attempt to outdo myself. Throughout the years I have learned a thing or two about egg dying so I decided to share them with you!
While I have tested and tried many methods, there are a few that I come back to year after year. Some of these may be familiar to you while others you may have never considered. Nevertheless, I have tried them all and can assure you you’ll get the best results using these tips and tricks.
Happy Easter and happy egg dyeing! Check out my Instagram page where I’ll be posting pictures of some of my past Easter egg displays!
Natural Egg Dyeing Techniques
I’m a big fan of using natural means to dye eggs. Growing up, this was mostly how my mom and grandma dyed eggs. They would use onion peels to get a deep brown color on the egg and would place little pieces of grass, leaves, or other plants to form a design on the egg itself. This is a really traditional method of dyeing eggs in Serbia and I’ve seen it become more and more popular in recent years in the US. Over the years, I have started using other ingredients (like purple cabbage!) to dye my eggs, and the natural method is still my favorite technique.
Onion Peels (Lukovina)
You’ll need:
Yellow onion peels
Raw White (for a lighter brown) or Brown ( for a darker brown) Eggs
Stickers or leaves, flowers, etc, whatever you’d like the design to be.
1 pair of pantyhose , panty-hose style ankle socks, or knee-highs
Water
2- 3 tablespoons vinegar
Process
Place the onion peels into the pot you’ll be using to dye your eggs. I like to start saving the peels a few weeks before Easter so that I have plenty when it’s time to dye my eggs. Prepare your eggs by putting any stickers or leaves/flowers/etc on your egg that you’d like. I have found that parsley, cilantro, and dill are the easiest to work with and leave beautiful imprints on the eggs. Dip each leaf in water and then arrange it on the egg to your liking. The water helps the leaf stick. Then place the egg in a piece of stocking/pantyhose and make sure the leaves/plant you’re using is firmly pressed against the egg. Tie both ends of the stocking.
Place your prepared eggs in the pot with the onion peels and cover them with the peels as well. Then, fill the pot with water, add the vinegar and cook your eggs as usual. Once the eggs are boiled, turn off the heat and let the eggs sit in the liquid for 20 minutes. Then, remove the eggs from the hot water and let them cool completely. After they’ve cooled remove the stocking and admire your results!
Napkin Decoupage
You’ll need:
Napkins with designs of your choice (for best results choose napkins with small pictures or details so they’ll fit)
1 egg white, slightly beaten until foamy
Cooked eggs, room temperature (I use white eggs for this method)
A paintbrush
Process
Using a pair of small scissors, cut out the design of your choice from each paper napkin. Then, remove the 2nd layer of the napkin (it usually falls off on its own). You will end up with just the first layer of the napkin with the print on it. Dip your paintbrush in the beaten egg and brush the surface of the egg where you’d like the design to go. Then, carefully lay the napkin on top of the egg surface. Dip your paintbrush again and gently brush a very small amount of egg white on top and around the napkin. Ensure that all the pieces are lying flat on the egg. Leave to dry completely.
Purple Cabbage/Plavi Kupus
You’ll need:
1 head of purple cabbage
2 tablespoons vinegar
White Eggs (Raw)
Process
Cut up your purple cabbage and place half in the bottom of the pot you will be using to dye your eggs. Then, place your eggs on top of the cabbage carefully. Next, place the rest of the cabbage on top of the eggs and cover with water. Add the vinegar and cook the eggs as usual. When the eggs are cooked, remove the pot from the heat and let the eggs cool in the liquid to room temperature. After the eggs have cooled, remove them from the pot and admire your results! The eggs will be a light blue color.
Egg Dyes
I have tried many egg dyes over the years and some work better than others. For lighter-colored eggs, I use the regular tablet dyes that are sold in all stores in the US. But if I want a true, very opaque color like red, I always use Greek egg dye.
I don’t have a particular brand that I’m loyal to; whatever Greek egg dye happens to be at my local European-centric supermarket is what I buy. This year, I picked up the dye pictured above. While the instructions say to add the color to boiling water with the eggs in the pot I like to do it slightly differently to prevent the dye from getting on my stove.
When using Greek egg dye, you must be very careful. It will permanently stain whatever surface it comes in contact with (not to mention your clothes and hands). For this reason, I like to use metal or enamel pots (ones I don’t care about) to dye my eggs with this dye.
Process
Pour enough hot water to fill a medium-sized pot. Then add a couple of tablespoons of vinegar, the dye, and stir. Place cooked eggs in the dye and leave until your desired shade is achieved. Remove from the pot and dry with paper towels.
General Tips
- Cover your entire work surface with newspapers or a vinyl tablecloth to prevent dye from staining your belongings.
- Use old pots or containers you don’t care about, OR line your pots with large plastic Ziploc bags.
- For deeper colors, use brown eggs. For lighter-colored eggs use white eggs.
- Don’t throw away your egg cartons! Use them to air dry eggs and for storing your eggs.
- Vinegar helps to intensify color, don’t skip it.
- Cilantro, dill, parsley, and blades of grass make beautiful designs.
- For a traditional shiny finish, place a small amount of oil on a paper towel and rub it gently across the egg so it becomes nice and shiny.
I hope you found this information helpful. If you try any of these tips or tricks be sure to let me know on Instagram! I can’t wait to see your designs!
Looking for dessert ideas for Easter? Check out my most popular section, the dessert section!
