Natural Easter Egg Dye with Onion Skins

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

This is how my German Grandmother dyed her Easter Eggs! Back then, they didn’t have all of the fancy egg dye tablets and decorating kits that we now use.

No, back then people had to make do 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.

Simply simmering your eggs in the onion dyebath gives you a lovely, warm brown shade.

However, I am going to take this tutorial a step further and show you how to make awesome and unique Marbled Easter Eggs. So, start saving your Onion Skins! You will need quite a few.

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

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

The best part is unwrapping these little pieces of art.

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Making Marbled Easter Eggs Step by Step:

The steps for making onion dyed eggs are very simple. Basically, all you have to do is cover the eggs with lots of pieces of onion skins and then cover this bundle with some fabric.

This fabric will create close contact between the egg and the onion peels and hold everything in place. Then, all you do is boil/simmer the eggs the same way you normally would except that you add a little white vinegar to the water.

Cut the fabric

The first thing you want to do is cut your fabric pieces into squares that are large enough to hold and wrap an egg plus the onion peels. I make my cloth pieces approximately 8″ square. Don’t worry, they don’t have to be perfect!

Wrap the eggs

Now, you are going to take one piece of fabric and place it on one of your hands. Next, put a layer of onion peels on top of the fabric making sure cover most of the surface with the skins.

Another thing to keep in mind is that the more variation you have in color and size of the onion pieces, the more marbling you will have on that egg.

Next, pick up an egg and place it top of the onion skins and add more peels. The idea is for the egg to be completely in contact with the onion.

Finally, carefully, wrap the fabric as tight as possible around the egg, making sure all parts of the egg are covered.

Tie the bundles

Finally, you are going to tie off the top of the fabric tightly with the thread. Again, you want firm contact between egg and peels so make sure the egg doesn’t move around too much inside the fabric.

Now, repeat the entire wrapping process with the rest of your eggs.

(Note: You can add small leaves and greenery for additional design but when I tried it this time, they didn’t make much of a print.

Set the dye colors

Now you are going to fill your pot about half way with water and then add about 1/2 cup of vinegar.

Carefully, place your wrapped eggs in the water, making sure they are completely covered.

Bring the water to a boil and then reduce the heat and simmer for about 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and allow the eggs to cool completely.

Unwrap the marbled eggs

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

Aren’t they beautiful? What’s more, you can even make your onion skin Easter Eggs shiny by rubbing them with a bit of oil.

Also, since you are using an all natural dye, the eggs are perfectly edible. Just make sure to store them in the refrigerator.

These colorful eggs also make beautiful Easter table decorations.

Enjoy 🙂
Annette

Over the years, I have shared several other Easter Egg decorating techniques from Coloring your Easter Eggs with Silk Ties, how to Decorating Easter Eggs with Yarn

How do you dye Easter Eggs with silk ties?

That is one of my all-time favorite ways to create super colorful eggs with the fabulous patterns that you find in men’s silk neckties.

The basic process is the same as marbling with onions (above) but since ties are dyed with harsh chemicals, there are a few additional safety precautions.

Here is where you can find my full step by step tutorial on how to print eggs with ties.

More Easter Egg Dyeing 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