I’ve been meaning to try this DIY for years, and I finally checked it off my list: naturally dyeing Easter eggs. The best part? These eggs will last forever – unless your dog decides otherwise (learned this the hard way). With no knowledge or experience dyeing wood, I decided to just give it a go. Could there be a better way? Very possibly. This turned out great for me though, and I’m happy to share how I did it!
What you will need:
- Wooden eggs – I found some on Amazon
- Alum – I buy mine from Maiwa
- Tannin – also from Maiwa
- Jars – one per egg
- A pot – big enough to fit all of your jars
- A spoon
- A strainer
- A measuring bowl/cup – similar size to jar
- Your dye materials
Prepping the Eggs
I decided to treat the wood similarly to fabric, since it is cellulose-based. I used a combination of tannin and alum.
First, I soaked the eggs in a tannin. You can make a strong tea from oak galls, sumac or walnut husks but I decided to use a tannin blend from Maiwa because I happened to already have some. I let the eggs sit in this overnight.
Then, I mordanted the eggs with Alum at roughly 10-20% the weight of the eggs. Again, I let them sit overnight.
The dyestuffs and where to find them
- Madder – I purchase this from Maiwa
- Sequoia – also from Maiwa
- Logwood – also from Maiwa
- Marigold – you can grow this easily and use the petals, or purchase from Maiwa
- Black beans – dried from the bulk section of the grocery store
- Black tea
- Grape juice + 1 tsp vinegar
- Onion skins (purple or sweet)
- Cabbage + Soda Ash (or washing soda)
The Dyeing
1 Put the dye material in a jar and fill it with water. The more material, the deeper the colour. For the dyes from Maiwa, I used about a teaspoon of each. For the black beans, they will expand so only fill the jar with beans about 1/4 full.
2 Place the jars in the pot and fill the pot halfway up the jars with water. Bring it to a simmer at low-medium and hold it for an hour or so. Turn the heat off and let sit overnight. The black beans and the grape juice do not need this step, they will dye fine without heat.
3 Next day, I turned the heat back on for about 30 mins before straining the dye material from the jar, using the strainer and extra measuring bowl/cup. Transfer the clear, strained dye back to the jar.
4 Place an egg in each jar. You’ll want to come back and check on them every 10 mins to watch the colour and move the egg around. The eggs will float to the top and you’ll have one side undyed if you don’t manually move it around.
Some of the dyes worked very quickly – the logwood for example only needed 5 minutes. Others I let sit for up to 3 hours. I just kept my eye on them, stirred them around and removed them when I was happy with the colour.
The results!
Some of the dyes didn’t react much with the wood and some of them dyed amazingly. Nevertheless, these will be an Easter decoration I have out every year for a many years to come! What a fun way to showcase the beauty of plant dyeing 🌼✨
x Shaela
Thanks for reading! I’d love to hear your thoughts, ideas and suggestions in the comments. Like I said, this was my first time dyeing wood – if there’s a better way than this, let me in on your secrets!