See this year’s eggs here! (They turned out AWESOME!)
Easter is about a month away; can you believe it? I wanted to share with you my family’s favorite way to dye Easter eggs so you have time to get your supplies if you want to make some as well! We make silk dyed eggs each year for a few reasons:
- They are super easy.
- They are mess free! No spilling, no dripping, no dye stains!
- They are gorgeous!
- Everyone thinks you are an Easter Egg making master because they are quite impressive. :)
You will need 100% Silk ties. On the back of the tie there should be a small tag that says either 100% silk or all silk. Dark colors work best and we’ve had the best luck with some of the ugliest ties! You want ugly ties on your egg – not your man! :) You will also need some white fabric of some sort (I’ve used an old pillow case before and last night I used a flour sack that I had cut up. You can get a pack of flour sacks for about $1 each at Target). You will also need hair ties (or you could use bread ties but hair ties are the easiest), vinegar and a pair of scissors.
First you need to cut the tie and take out the lining. Flip your tie over and just snip like shown above. There will be a lining piece that comes out. All you want is the pretty silk pattern.
Place your egg on a section of the silk tie.
Gather the silk around the egg. Try to pull it tightly around so the pattern lays flat on the egg. Secure it tightly with a hair tie.
Then wrap with the white fabric and secure. In a pot, boil water and add 1 cup of vinegar. Place the eggs in the water for about 20 minutes. Remove the eggs and place in a colander to cool. This is the hard part – waiting for them to cool!
After they have cooled unwrap them!
I bought a wild flower print tie and I absolutely loved the eggs that it made!
The yellow wasn’t quite dark enough but the other colors from the tie made some really great details!
We only did a few eggs last night, but I will show you our Easter Eggs when we dye them in a few weeks! In the mean time, hit up the thrift stores for some great ties! I can usually find them for $0.50 – $1.00 each.
I’ll be linking up here.
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This is FANTASTIC!!! Love this idea!
really great idea and looks easy. Love it and thank you.
What is the purpose of the white fabric? Does it have to be a certain type of fabric?
Cyndi the white fabric helps make sure that the silk designs are pressed on the egg. Since it is white you don’t have to worry about any other color transfer on the eggs. It also helps make sure that the colors don’t bleed in the water or onto the other eggs in the pot. I would use cotton (that’s all we’ve ever used so I can’t vouch for other fabrics). In the past we’ve cut up an old pillow case and a flour sack. Hope that helps!
Can you reuse the ties multiple times or does the color fade after soaking?
I haven’t tried re-using them honestly. The colors fade though from the tie. I usually get 3 eggs/tie.
[...] Tonight we dyed our Easter Eggs. Our tradition is dying them with silk ties. You can find the instructions here. [...]
[...] Silk-Dyed Easter Eggs: How cool! Amanda from It’s a Fabulous Life shows how you can dye eggs with old silk ties, vinegar, and boiling water. Who knew! Silk dyeing is [...]
Thanks so much for this awesome Easter activity post! I have featured it, along with 39 others in a FAB Easter Kids Activities post! I would love it if you would stop by and check it and some of the other links) out! http://3boysandadog.com/deals/2013/40-easter-activities-for-kids-recipes-crafts-homeschool/
Kelli
Thanks for the cool post. My daughter and I tried this, love it and she wants to do more! I linked to your tutorial in my issue of Greenville IL Macaroni Kid as a great Easter activity to do with kids: http://greenvilleil.macaronikid.com/. Thanks again!
[...] Silk Dyed Easter Eggs isn’t technically a recipe, though you do cook them. However, this was the neatest thing I have [...]
@leah kimmer
do you do this a an already hard boiled egg? do u put eggsnin water already boiling or let them soak while its heating up?
No need to boil them first! They will cook while wrapped in the ties!
Do you put eggs in the water before or after the water boils? Do you turn the heat off after the water begins to boil and let the eggs sit or keep the heat on?
It doesn’t matter – I only put 5 eggs in at a time and when I take them out I put another batch in (the water is already boiling at this point). I keep the heat on the whole time. You just want to make sure they are boiling for about 20 minutes to make sure they are cooked!