I raise chickens, and somehow that makes my family think I know everything about Easter egg trends. *sigh* Two years ago I got asked how to do the shaving cream colored Easter eggs thing. Last year several people wanted to know how to do the nail polish marbling. This year, it's silk tie dyed eggs. 

I have chickens that lay white, brown, blue, green and speckled eggs...I really don't need to dye Easter eggs! However, in the interest in knowledge and experiment I decided to figure out the silk tie dye thing. Turns out, it was pretty darn easy!

All your going to need are ties, an old t-shirt, some string, some vinegar and water. Oh...and the eggs. White of course! 

How to color eggs with silk

You'll need to get a few silk ties. Make sure they're 100% silk, blends don't work as well. I bought the ones for this experiment at a thrift store. I paid $6 for 4. You could use silk scarves instead, but I found they were much more expensive. 

You'll also need some string or elastic of some sort (I used embroidery thread) and an old white shirt or pillowcase. It helps if you have a seam ripper and you'll need scissors. Oh...and a pot, water, vinegar and white eggs.

First, deconstruct the ties. If you've ever used a seam ripper to take apart a piece of clothing before you will be amazed at how fast ties come apart! They have a bit of stitching at each end, then just pull the string and the whole thing separates. You won't need anything but the printed fabric so put the rest aside. 

I'm sure somebody somewhere has exact measurements on this but I just sort of eyeballed it. Spread the tie out print side up (this is really important) Lay an egg on it and wrap the tie around the egg till the ends meet and can be fastened. Tie with embroidery thread then cut off from the rest of the tie. 

Make sure the fabric is pretty tight against the egg to prevent missed spots. The colors won't transfer well in loose areas. I did 3 eggs for each tie, but could have done a fourth. I ran out of eggs. 

After all the eggs are wrapped in silk and fastened, do the same thing with the white shirt wrapping it over the tie, cutting and fastening again. 

Place all the wrapped eggs in a large pot with water and 1/4 cup of vinegar. Bring to a boil. Boil the eggs for about 20 minutes then remove from heat and drain. Once cool unwrap your eggs. 

They say you'll be able to use the silk pieces again and again. I've only used them once so I'm not sure, but it was a super easy way to get some complex patterns. I did notice that even the ugliest tie I bought made some pretty colors. 

The egg colors ended up a lot lighter than the tie, so don't be afraid of dark colors or funky patterns. Oh and if you happen to find out what next years Easter egg trend will be...a little heads up would be nice! 😉

~L

Want gardening and healthy living information sent right to your email weekly? Click right here to join my newsletter list and get new posts sent directly to you the day they're published!