The egg, so fragile and yet so strong, with its promise of new life, has always been a potent symbol and a part of Easter celebrations. In this extract from The Children’s Forest we show you how to paint eggs using natural dye, leaves and flowers.
Natural Egg Dyeing with Leaf Imprints
When dyeing eggs, you can also use leaves and flowers to create patterns and shapes on your coloured background. This method uses onion skins as a dye material – it is easy to save onion skins when preparing food and they give a good, strong colour.
YOU WILL NEED
- White eggs
- Pan
- Onion skins* (white onion skins make an orange-brown dye; red onion skins a green dye)
- Vinegar
- Tights cut into pieces to go around each egg
- Small elastic bands
- Slotted spoon
- Cardboard egg cartons
*You can also use red cabbage to make a blue dye
TO MAKE:
- Place the onion skins into the pan with enough water to cover the eggs (which are added later). Boil for fifteen minutes with the lid on. Strain the contents into a bowl, pressing the pulp to remove any remaining liquid. Remove the pulp and pour the dye water back into the pan and cover.
- One at a time, place leaves and flowers onto the egg, arranging them in a pleasing pattern. Simple shapes work best. Some of the plant materials will stick better if dipped in water first. If the eggs are to be eaten, only use edible plants such as calendula. Gently place the egg inside the tights, making sure your plant material is still in place, then pull the tights around the egg and secure with elastic bands.
- Return the dye to a gentle boil and stir three tablespoons of vinegar into the pan, to act as a natural mordant. Lower the eggs carefully into the pan and simmer for 10 to 20 minutes. Turn off the heat, cover, and let the liquid stand until the desired colour is obtained.
- Remove the eggs with a slotted spoon and place them back in the egg carton to cool. Carefully untie the elastic bands or cut the tights and unwrap the eggs, and gently pull off the plant materials.
For more seasonal activity ideas and stories see The Children’s Forest by Dawn Casey, Anna Richardson and Helen d’Ascoli.
