Step-by-Step Guide to Making Natural Egg Dyes

This is a basic step-by-step process, but in reality, each dye bath will achieve different color saturation levels in different lengths of time, and we found it fun to experiment.

1. Prepare Your Dye Ingredients: Bring your chosen dye ingredients to a boil. When the color leeches into the water, remove the pot from the heat and steep. The longer you boil and steep, the more color you will have. For most fruit, vegetables, or their skins, use a 1:1 ratio, meaning a cup of water to one cup of material. Vibrantly colored ground spices like Turmeric and paprika also color eggs; if you go this route, use a ratio of 3 tablespoons ground spice to one cup of water. I have read you can also color your eggs using brewed coffee and green tea using the same method.

2. Dye Your Hard-Cooked Eggs: Place hard-cooked eggs into a bowl, strain the ingredients from the liquid, add 3 tablespoons white vinegar, and then pour the mixture over the eggs. Let eggs sit in the dye until the desired color is reached; this takes quite a while. It works best if you bring the dye to room temperature first so you don't risk overcooking your eggs with hot water.

3. Achieve Desired Color and Dry: The length of time the eggs need to sit in the color varies by ingredients; it is a matter of pulling the egg out and checking to see if you like the color. Some ingredients dyed the egg right away, like blueberries and turmeric. Others, like kale and carrots, steeped overnight. When you are happy with the color, rinse eggs quickly under cool water and let air dry on paper towels.

Unexpected Results and Tips for Natural Egg Dyeing

Surprising Finds:

The blueberry and turmeric both colored the water quickly and dyed the eggs in no time. By the time I checked the egg in the blueberry dye, it was almost black.

The kale took a long time to stain the egg, even though the water was bright green after steeping. The egg sat overnight in the solution and still only took on the palest green color. The carrot/onion skin mixture developed a gorgeous orangey hue, but it too sat overnight. If you keep your eggs in the dye for hours, it is best to place them in the fridge.

The beet dye surprised me; I expected it to color the water and the egg quickly, but both took a long time. I also expected a red, pink, or purple egg, and mine is grayish. Another cool one is red cabbage, which can make a bright blue or purple dye.

Reduce Waste with Scraps:

If you don't want to waste costly produce dyeing eggs, use peels, stems, and scraps. Collect the scraps in the freezer until you have enough.

Kids' work is to play. WeeWork is a Mommy Poppins series offering an easy daily activity for grown-ups and children to do together, making kids' work an important part of your day. We aim to inspire together time, creativity, and fun using only your imagination and things around the house. You can see all craft ideas and boredom busters.