How to Naturally Dye Easter Eggs

Naturally dyeing Easter eggs is an earth-friendly way to celebrate the holiday, and makes for a gorgeous Easter table centerpiece when placed in a teak wood basket ($78, shopterrain.com). This method involves boiling the eggs with the dye; the heat allows the dye to saturate the shells, resulting in intense, more uniform color. With the cold-dipping method, the eggs and the ingredients for the dye are boiled separately. That alternative produces subtle, translucent shades, but can result in uneven coloring unless the eggs are rotated vigilantly while in the dye. For hollow eggs that will last indefinitely, cold-dip raw eggs, then blow them out after they are dyed.

To make natural dyes, the materials needed can often be found in your pantry. Red-cabbage dye is made of four cups of chopped cabbage. To make the yellow-turmeric dye, use three tablespoons of turmeric. Meanwhile, the onion-skin dye uses four cups of onion skins—skins from about 12 onions. The beet dye calls for four cups of chopped beets, and the coffee dye uses one quart of strong black coffee, instead of water.

Color Glossary

Natural dyes can sometimes produce unexpected results, so don't be surprised if, for example, your red-cabbage dye yields blue eggs. Use the following guide to help you achieve the colors you desire.

Deep Gold: Boil eggs in turmeric solution, 30 minutes.
Sienna: Boil eggs in onion-skin solution, 30 minutes.
Dark Rich Brown: Boil eggs in black coffee, 30 minutes.
Pale Yellow: Soak eggs in room-temperature turmeric solution, 30 minutes.
Orange: Soak eggs in room-temperature onion-skin solution, 30 minutes.
Light Brown: Soak eggs in room-temperature black coffee, 30 minutes.
Light Pink: Soak eggs in room-temperature beet solution, 30 minutes.
Light Blue: Soak eggs in room-temperature cabbage solution, 30 minutes.
Royal Blue: Soak eggs in room-temperature cabbage solution overnight.
Lavender: Soak eggs in room-temperature beet solution, 30 minutes. Follow with room-temperature cabbage solution, 30 seconds.
Chartreuse: Soak eggs in room-temperature turmeric solution, 30 minutes. Follow with room-temperature cabbage solution, 5 seconds.
Salmon: Soak eggs in room-temperature turmeric solution, 30 minutes. Follow with room-temperature onion-skin solution, 30 minutes.