Easter always brings back vivid memories of getting dressed up for church in poofy pastel dresses and shiny white shoes, waking up bright and early with my siblings to check out our baskets and hunting for plastic eggs all over the front lawn. And as much as I loved all of these things, I think my very favorite part of Easter was the night before when we all gathered around to dye Easter eggs. Back then we used the PAAS dye kits with the plastic shrink wrappers and dozens of tiny stickers. Egg dying has come a long way since then. Here are a few distinctive techniques that you can try now.
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Marbleized Eggs
Materials:
- Mixing bowls
- Measuring cup and spoons
- White vinegar
- Food coloring
- Eggs
- Olive oil
- Fork
- Paper towels
Directions:
- Prepare a dye bath in a small heatproof mixing bowl by mixing 1 teaspoon of vinegar and 20 drops of food coloring (use more to intensify color) with 1 cup of hot water. Add an egg, and submerge it until it turns the desired hue. R emove the egg and let it dry, about 15 minutes.
- In a shallow, wide bowl prepare another batch of dye in a darker or different shade; this will provide the swirls. The liquid should be 1/2 inch deep. Add about 1 tablespoon olive oil (you may need more depending on the size of the container). Run a fork through this mixture, creating swirls of oil on the surface. Place the dyed egg in the marbleizing mixture and roll it once around the bowl to pick up the oil streaks; remove, and blot gently with a paper towel. Let the egg dry, about 30 minutes.
- Try various color combinations. Vary the base tints and the swirls to achieve contrasts both striking and subtle.
Silk Tie Eggs
Materials:
- Raw eggs
- Glass or enamel pot
- Silk from ties, blouses, or boxers, cut into pieces large enough to cover an egg
- White sheets (or pillowcases or old tablecloths), cut into pieces to cover silk-wrapped eggs
- Twist ties
- 3 tablespoons of white vinegar
- Warm water
- Vegetable oil
- Paper towels
- Tongs or spoon
Directions:
- Cut a piece of silk large enough to wrap around a raw egg.
- Wrap a raw egg with a piece of silk, making sure the printed side of the material is facing the egg. Silk can still be used if it doesn’t fit perfectly around egg.
- Place the silk-wrapped egg in a piece of white sheet, pillowcase, or old tablecloth and secure tightly with a twist-tie.
- Place the egg(s) in an enamel or glass pot. Fill pot with enough water to cover eggs completely. Then add three tablespoons of white vinegar.
- Bring the water to a boil, turn the heat down and simmer for 20 minutes (longer if you plan on eating the eggs).
- Remove the eggs from water with tongs or spoon and let cool.
- Remove silk from cooled egg.
- For shiny eggs, wipe with vegetable oil after completing step 7.
Wax Pattern Eggs
Materials:
- Food coloring
- Beeswax
- Hard- boiled eggs
- Pot (for melting beeswax)
- Bowls and spoons (for dyes)
- Cookie sheet
- Wax paper
- Paper towels
Directions:
- To make a striped egg, dye an egg pale yellow (for richer colors, increase the proportion of coloring to water). Remove and let dry.
- Melt beeswax in a pot. Dip both ends of the egg in wax. This will prevent that area from absorbing the next color.
- Place the egg in the green dye for about one minute. Then remove it and let it dry. Dip both ends of the egg deeper in the wax than before, leaving a narrow unwaxed band around the middle of the egg.
- Place the egg in dark blue dye to color the middle stripe. When finished, place the egg in a 250-degree oven on a cookie sheet lined with waxed paper for about 5 minutes. Take the egg out and wipe off melted wax with a paper towel. To make a half-colored egg, hold an egg partially submerged in a strong dye for about a minute. To create eggs with bands of white, dip-dye both ends, then dip each end in the wax to cover the dyed area plus a stripe of white beyond them, then proceed as above. Feel free to experiment with different colors too.
(Photos By: Amy and Tienvijftien)
