Natural Easter Egg Dye with Onion Skins

Learn how easy it is to make a Natural Easter Egg Dye using only Onion Skins and Vinegar.

This is how my German Grandmother dyed her Easter Eggs way back when! They didn’t have all of the fancy Easter egg dye tablets and decorating kits that we now use. Back then, people had to make due with what they had. In the case of Easter Egg dyeing, they had to learn how to extract the color from natural materials such as onion skins.

But, I’m not just going to show you how to make solid brown Easter Eggs, I’m going to show you how to make beautiful, unique Marbled Easter Eggs. So, start saving your Onion Skins!

Since Easter is literally just around the corner, this tutorial on how to marble dye eggs with onions is super late. But, I’ve been wanting to share it for years now, so here goes.

Table of Contents

• What are Onion Skin Easter Eggs?
• Easter Egg Dyeing Supplies
• How to Dye Easter Eggs with Onion Skins
• Wrap the Eggs for Dyeing
• Set the Natural Easter Egg Dye
• Unwrap the Dyed Easter Eggs

Over the years, I’ve shared several other Easter Egg decorating techniques from Coloring your Easter Eggs with Silk Ties, how to Decorate Easter Eggs with Yarn and how to make Wool Felted Easter Eggs.

 

What are Onion Skin Easter Eggs?

Basically, they are eggs which have been dyed with the natural pigment in onion skins. There are different ways that you can dye onion skin Easter Eggs. You can place all your onion skins in a cookpot with some vinegar and raw eggs But, instead of just boiling the eggs in water and onion skins which gives them an even, golden brown color, we would wrap the eggs in layers of onion skins and fabric and then boil them. This gives the eggs a fun, marbled texture.

I’m sure all of you have already finished your Easter Egg dyeing, right? Well, if not, this is a really fun, natural Easter Egg dye technique that kids enjoy also.

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How to Dye Easter Eggs with Onion Skins

The steps for making onion skin Easter Eggs are very simple. Basically, all you have to do is cover the eggs with lots of onion skins and wrap some fabric around the egg to hold the onion skins in place. Then, all you do is boil the eggs the same way you normally would except you add a little white vinegar to the water.

 

Wrap the Eggs for Dyeing

First, cut the fabric into about 8″ squares, one piece per egg. Hold a piece of the fabric in one hand and begin layering your onion skins. The more variation in color and size of the onion pieces, the more marbled your egg.

Place an egg on top of the onion skins and add more layers. Carefully, wrap the fabric as tight as possible around the egg, making sure all parts of the egg are covered. Tie off the top of the fabric tightly with the thread. You don’t want the egg or the onion skins to move around.

(Note: I tried using some small leaves and greenery for design but they didn’t make much of a print.)

Repeat with the rest of your eggs.

 

Set the Natural Easter Egg Dye

Fill your pot about half way with water and add about 1/2 cup vinegar. Place your wrapped eggs in the water, making sure the eggs are covered. Bring the water to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer for about 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and allow the eggs to cool completely.

 

Unwrap the Dyed Easter Eggs

Now comes the fun part … unwrapping your marbled Easter Eggs!

Aren’t they beautiful? You can make your onion skin Easter Eggs shiny by rubbing them with a bit of oil. Plus, since you’re using natural Easter Egg dye, the eggs are perfectly edible. Just make sure to store them in the refrigerator. These Easter Eggs also make beautiful Easter table decorations.
Enjoy 🙂
Annette

Related Easter Egg Coloring Ideas:

How to Print Easter Eggs with Silk Ties
Yarn Wrapped Easter Eggs
Felted Easter Eggs
Easter Egg Decorating Ideas for Adults and Children
How to Dye Yarn with Easter Egg Dyes

Natural Easter Egg Dye with Onion Skins