My friend, Jill, sent me this link last week of a tutorial on how to dye eggs using silk ties! This tutorial is originally based on a Martha Stewart how-to. It’s basically using ties to imprint a pattern onto the egg shell. So cool, right?
I bought some silk ties and scarves at the thrift store and cut them up. I also cut up an old bed sheet for the outer wrapping.
Then you wrap the silk around the egg and cover that with a plain piece of cloth. Twisty tie it together! (My dad and grandma always saved the twisty ties from every loaf of bread and I always thought it was annoying but obviously now I’m grateful.)
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Then you wrap the silk around the egg and cover that with a plain piece of cloth. Twisty tie it together! (My dad and grandma always saved the twisty ties from every loaf of bread and I always thought it was annoying but obviously now I’m grateful.)
did that for all of the eggs and I put them in a pot. Then I filled up the pot with water so it was completely covering the eggs.
Pour three tablespoons of vinegar into the pot.
Now, I didn’t pay close enough attention to the directions and I hard boiled the eggs first. The directions call for wrapping the eggs then boiling them, but I did it in two separate steps. I didn’t bring the water to a boil a second time but I did let it heat up a good amount then turned off the heat and put the lid on. Let them simmer for about half an hour. While you’re waiting, you can play with your cat.
I took the eggs out of the pot and let them cool off for a bit.
About half of my eggs didn’t have any designs on them, and some of them were extremely faint. I kind of liked the faint ones though, like a really subtle checkered pattern. My favorite was definitely the flower print. That was from a thin scarf. Most of the ones that didn’t turn out were from ties that I wasn’t positive were 100% silk, because their labels had been ripped off. So definitely make sure your material is 100% silk! And the thinner the material the better.
I had a good time doing this. While they were cooling, I realized that I didn’t care a whole lot if they didn’t turn out great because I really liked the process.
I’m not a huge fan of Easter, myself, but any excuse to eat candy and be crafty is something I’m down for.
Did you dye eggs this year? What did you do this weekend?
