Natural dye for Easter eggs

(Mar 18, 2008) Colouring Easter eggs is a fun activity for all ages. Most egg dye kits are labelled as safe but the dyes used in them are made from coal tar and petroleum -- not exactly eco-friendly. Why not try natural dyes that are better for you and the environment?

There are plenty of vegetable and fruits that provide some beautiful colours. You probably already have most of them in your kitchen!

Preparation
To start, wash your eggs with a gentle organic soap to remove any dirt or oil.

Decide which method you are doing to use:

Cold-dip: Suitable for younger children since the eggs and dyes are boiled separately. After the dye has been strained and cooled, the eggs are dipped for five to ten minutes in the solution. Produces soft, pastel shades.

Hot-dip: Eggs are boiled directly in the dye. Use two tablespoons of vinegar per quarter litre (cup) of water. Place eggs, vegetables or fruit into a pan (not aluminium). Make sure there is enough water to cover the eggs Bring to a rolling boil and reduce heat to simmer for 30 minutes. Rinse with lukewarm water.

Making Natural Dyes
To make four cups of dye you will need:

1 tablespoon of a spice or one litre (4 cups of a chopped fruit or vegetable) You can use frozen or canned vegetables in place of fresh.

one litre (4 cups) of water

2 tablespoons of white vinegar

For colours

Pink/red: pomegranate juice, red onion skins, beets, cranberries or cranberry juice, raspberries, red grape juice, hibiscus tea, red wines, currants

Orange: yellow onion skins, paprika, chili powder

Yellow: orange or lemon peels, carrot tops or shredded carrots, celery seed, ground cumin, ground turmeric, yellow mustard powder, curry powder

Green: spinach, liquid chlorophyll, grass clippings

Blue: red cabbage, canned blueberries or blueberry juice, blackberries, purple grape juice

Lavender: Small quantity of purple grape juice, purple petunias or violets, frozen/fresh blueberries

Brown: dill seeds, black walnut shells, black tea or coffee

Of course you can also buy pre-packaged dye to colour your eggs from Nova Naturals.

Different effects
Use your imagination to create different effects:

Try decorating the eggs with crayons or wax pencils before boiling them.

Wrap a rubber band around the egg to keep parts of it white, creating a batik effect.

Cut out designs from masking tape and put them on your egg. Dip your eggs into the dye and when they are dry remove the masking tape. For a layered effect, take off half the masking tape and dip into another colour.

Double dipped for added colours. Boil your egg for the first coat and then cold dip for the second. You can get a striped effect by only dipping one end of the egg.

Wrap you egg in onion skins, using string, dental floss or rubber bands to hold the skins against the egg. Boil the egg and skin for a tie-dyed effect.

Wrap eggs with dental floss and/or different sizes or rubber bands and then dip.

Rub crushed berries right onto the egg for pastel shapes.

After the eggs are dry, try decorating them using your crayons, markers or pens. You can hand paint designs. Use rubber stamps to add other shapes and figures.

Don’t be afraid to experiment!

Anne Colvey is a freelance writer based in Montreal. Decorating Easter eggs is her favourite craft since it’s easy and doesn’t involve the use of glue guns.


Tags: easter, eggstag cloud.