Nature Craft – How to naturally dye Easter eggs

Move over chocolate, have you had a go at dyeing eggs for Easter?

This is a great activity for a pre-Easter snack in the classroom, for kindy kids, or for an Easter Sunday picnic lunch.

There are two ways to do it –
1: using a commercial egg dying kit
2: using natural materials.
We love number 2, not only is it simple and healthier, it becomes an exercise of discovery – who knew  there are so many ways to colour your Easter eggs using natural dyes!

Natural dyes for Easter Eggs

NOTE: Plan to prepare these the day before you intend to eat them as they soak in the dye overnight and take on the colours!

Using plant based natural dyes for Easter eggs is interesting and fun, here’s how to do it:

What you need:

• White or light coloured eggs
  White eggs are not so easy to get, so get the lightest coloured eggs possible.
  Use Free Range eggs please! They are kinder to the chickens!
• Leaves to create patterns on the eggs
  Soft, pliable leaves or flowers are best as they mold to the shape of the egg
  Soft small ferns worked well, you could use small autumn leaves, or flowers like spring daisies or daffodils.
• Thin cloth or stocking
  This could be old pantyhose, otherwise think of old thin pillowcases, or thin muslin cloth.
• Sting or rubber band to tie cloth
  For holding the plant material and cloth in place before boiling
• A stainless steel pot
  If you are preparing more than one colour, you’ll need more that one pot
• Water
• Plants for natural dyes
  Experiment with natural dyes made from onion skins, turmeric, red cabbage, green spinach or kale, frozen blueberries, avocado pips, and beetroot dyes offer up a rainbow of colours!

Method:

Prepare these the day before you intend to eat them as they soak in the dye overnight and take on the colour.

HARD BOILED EGGS

1. First, hard-boil your eggs –
   Place eggs in a pot, cover with fresh water, bring to the boil.
2. Once boiling cook for for 5-7 minutes to ensure they are well cooked.
3. Tip out how water and cover eggs with cold water, to help them cool.

MAKING THE NATURAL DYE

1. Add 2 cups of water and 1 cups of plants, veges or fruit to a saucepan.
   (Use one pan for each colour you make).
2. Bring the mix to a boil, then lower heat and let it simmer for 30 minutes.
   Turn off the heat, and let the dye cool.
3. Once cool, strain liquid through a sieve to collect plant items
   Keep the liquid in a large jar or plastic container and compost the plant matter.
4. Mix in 1 tbsp vinegar per 1 cup of dye.

DYING THE EGGS

1. Choose your flower, leaf or fern and place onto the egg.
2. Wrap the egg in the thin cotton square, and tie with the string or a rubber band.
3. Cut off the extra fabric so it doesn’t absorb dye.
4. Place boiled eggs into the dye, make sure they are full covered. Refrigerate overnight.
5. The next day, Drain, cool, then carefully unwrap. Keep refrigerated until you are ready to eat them.

THE NEXT DAY …

There is a great deal of excitement from the kids, as we researched, collected and observed the results.
We boiled them in their dyes and ate them for lunch. “Can we do this every year?” they asked.
Yes, I think we’ll have to try!
In our house – these aren’t hollow eggs that are emptied and ornamental, we boil the eggs and eat them for a nutritious brunch.
Thank you chickens. And nature for the fun, edible, celebratory science experiment.