I posted this tutorial a few years ago and it has become somewhat of a tradition to bring it back every year! One of our family Easter traditions is dying eggs with pieces of silk. I saw a cute lady show Martha how to do it a few years ago and I ran upstairs right then to steal a tie! It’s way cooler than those cups of neon liquid that end up all over your clothes, your furniture and your hands plus it gives you an excuse to rid a man’s closet of ugly ties.
Here’s the run-down:
You need 100% silk for this to work. Make sure to check the labels to make sure you’re not buying polyester, which can look similar. I grab old ties at the thrift store where they’re usually pretty cheap. And remember: when it comes to ties, you may not want ugly ones on your man, but ugly ties do make pretty eggs! You could also use silk from an old blouse, a scarf, or whatever. So if you’re rummaging through a thrift store, check out some other areas as well.
I try to find an assortment of colors and patterns. Usually dark blues, purples, and reds work the best, but it’s fun to experiment with all kinds of things. The interesting thing is that you never know how much of the color and pattern will transfer to the eggs. Sometimes ties I think will be awesome really disappoint, and ones I didn’t think much of make the most beautiful eggs. Here’s some of the ties I grabbed from my local thrift store:
Usually it will tell you if it’s 100% silk right on the main label of the tie, but a lot of them don’t, and if that’s the case, check that little tiny end, it’s usually hiding there.
The first step is to deconstruct the tie. Snip the seams and remove the lining so you are just left with the silk. (And yes, this old Christian Dior tie, which I love, was only 50 cents at the thrift store! If it was a skirt, I would totally wear it. I have gotten many angry comments about the fact that I destroyed a Christian Dior tie. Honestly, for 50 cents I really don’t care who’s name is on it. Get over it, people!)
Next you cut a piece large enough to cover an egg. Wrap the egg with the right side of the fabric making contact with the egg. The right side is the printed side, or the side that would be on the outside of the tie. You want to try to wrap the fabric as tight as you can without breaking the egg of course. The more direct contact the silk has with the egg shell the clearer the imprint of the pattern. Where there are folds in the fabric you’ll get kind of a swirly water color effect. I love those parts- it adds to the charm. Once wrapped, tie with a piece of string or a twisty tie. (Do yourself a favor and go with the twisty tie!)
Now, notice how I tied the eggs in the above photo- with the tie on the top of the long side of the egg. If you do this, the opposite end of the egg will have the best pattern. If you are going to be sitting the eggs upright in an egg cup, this is the best way to wrap them.
However, if you want the best part of the design on the wide side of the egg, you’ll want to wrap them horizontally, like this:
Just wrap them as smoothly and tightly as you can for the best transfer.
I wish eggs came like this at the grocery store. I would probably buy a lot more eggs if they were dressed up in their silky best.
After the eggs are wrapped in silk, you’re going to wrap them again with a light colored light weight piece of fabric. An old pillowcase, sheet, or thin dish cloth is perfect. If you go to the thrift store to get ties, you may want to grab a pillowcase too. Otherwise you might get impatient at home and just take one from your kid’s room. Don’t tell my husband I did that.
Put all those little guys in a pot and cover them with water. Add 1/4 C vinegar and bring it to a boil. After about 20 minutes you can remove the eggs and set them in a colander or on a towel to dry and cool. Once they’re cool enough to handle you can remove the fabric.
This is my favorite part. I get so antsy waiting for them to cool. It’s always a surprise to see what went on in that little package.
Below are some of my results. I have to say that the first one is probably my favorite egg of all the ones I’ve ever done. I can’t believe how clearly those flowers transferred and how bold the colors turned out. Incredible!
Here are some older photos, but still fun to look at. I absolutely love the cool stripy, swirly thing going on in this one
This is one of the disappointments I talked about. I was so excited for a green tie and I thought the pattern was cool (ya know, for an egg) but it turned out super light and muted. Still pretty though, kind of like water colors.
I almost didn’t buy this blue tie because it looked boring, but I’m glad I did. Remember: bad ties make good eggs!
Try this out and let me know how it goes. Everyone will wonder how on earth you did it! Just tell them you’re a genius. Or give them our website. Your choice.
Here you can see the opposite sides of where I tied the silk, they get kind of a swirly watercolor look:
And here are the sides where the silk made the most contact:
If you want to add a little shine, just put a little vegetable oil on a paper down and give them a light rub.
Gorgeous.
Love it? Pin it!
Silk Dyed Easter Eggs
from ourbestbites.com
Cut pieces of 100% silk large enough to cover an egg. Wrap as smoothy and tightly around egg as possible, with right side of fabric facing in, and secure with a twist-tie or piece of string. Repeat process, but wrap with a plain piece of lightweight fabric, like an old white pillowcase or sheet.
Place eggs in a large stock pot and cover with water at least 2 inches above eggs. Add 1/4 cup white vinegar. Bring pan to a boil and reduce to simmer. Simmer for 20 minutes and then use a pair of tongs to remove eggs and lay them (still wrapped) on layers of paper towels or an old dish towel. Let cool to room temperature and then remove the fabric wrappings. Store in the fridge until ready to display. If desired, rub with a small amount of vegetable oil for shine.
To complete this process with blown-out eggs, click here.
*Frequently Asked Questions*
Do I wrap uncooked or hardboiled eggs in silk?
Do not wrap up hard-boiled eggs. Just regular un-cooked eggs from the fridge!
Can you eat the eggs?
Since you don’t know what kinds of dyes are used to color the fabrics, and chances are they aren’t food-safe, we don’t recommend eating the eggs.
Can you make these with blown eggs so you can save them?
Yes! Click here for a tutorial on how to blow out eggs, and also turn them into hanging ornaments. Instructions on how to do silk-dyed eggs with blown out eggs are found in that post.
Will this process work with wooden or ceramic eggs?
Honestly, I did not know there was such a thing until everyone left comments asking about it on this post! Readers who have tried this have reported it does not work very well with wooden eggs.
Do I have to wrap the eggs in the plain fabric after the silk?
I think it does help keep the colors in there next to the egg and therefore make them more vibrant, but if you want to try skipping that step- chances are it will still work just fine.
Does the silk have to be from a neck tie?
Nope! Anything that’s 100% silk. A tie, a scarf, a blouse, etc.
Can you re-use the pieces of silk once you use them to dye an egg?
You can, but the colors will fade a little more each time.
Questions & Reviews
I have tried this process with 100% silk ties , a ceramic pot and still no luck. What am I doing wrong?
I’m so sorry to hear that! Some ties just flop, unfortunately!
In case anyone else is curious – we did these a few years ago with a special education class (based off of this tutorial) and because I have serious trust issues, we hard-boiled the eggs first – no one was going to eat these anyway – and it still worked. So the dye will still transfer on pre-boiled shells.
I found lots of ties today but most are boring! I found enough to make it happen. I will be on the look out from now on!
Mine didn’t work at all! I used a red tie with a black stripe & a tiny part of the black stripe transferred, that’s all. I followed the directions and am disappointed as I wanted to do this with my nephews for Easter.
I’m sorry yours didn’t work Kathy! There are a lot of variables and it’s important to try with a few different pieces of fabric (making sure they are 100% silk) because some will transfer better than others and sometimes you’ll also get a dud!
Well, it’s about time that I write to thank you for this craft and the genius snot sucker method for blowing eggs. This has become an Easter tradition and I LOVE them and opening the little packages to see what happened! This year I went next level and filled the eggs with a chocolate and Nutella mixture. Mailed them to the college-aged kids that I used to do this craft with. Truly thank you for all of the special Easter memories associated with your tie-dyed eggs!!!
I have some beautiful eggs that I made with the silk tie method that I made about 10 years ago. I did not blow out the eggs. After Easter I put them in my basement in an egg carton and turned them at first maybe every few days. After some time, I would turn them less often and less often. They never smelled bad and now after about 10 years, they all rattle. The yolk and whites hardened into a little ball that rattles if I gently shake them. They are still beautiful and probably would last centuries. I make new ones every year to add to my collection or to give to people – neat hobby.
I’ve heard of others doing this- so cool!
Will this work on Egg Gourds? I grew some Egg Gourds for the last two years and was wondering if I could Dye them this way with silk. I’ve done this on real egg and love it.
I have no idea!
I’m so glad to see in your Q and A that you recommend not eating them. Every Easter I’m posting on sites and on FB about not eating these eggs. As a fabric dyer I also would stress to add that they not use that pan again for cooking. I use the ties to dye silk scarves and the water changes from clear to colored by the dye. I have an old pan just for dyeing these scarves. I also found that silk skirts don’t dye very well. I believe that’s due to being washed, when most ties aren’t washed.
I’ve done this each year since the story came out and my best results when I rolled the egg moist with water in silk and twist tied each end and used a white sock to hold them in for the boil and make sure it has cooled completely before taking out to assure the best color transfers.
great tips!
Thank you so much. I direct people to you page when they ask where I heard about doing my eggs this way. I have learned a couple things I would add for the people who want the perfect eggs. I use jumbo eggs for me easter basket and I have a bowl of tap water on the table when wrapping the eggs. After I place my egg on the spot I want I do the tie and egg into the water, it helps form the fabric to the egg and allows for better coverage and placement. Oh… one more thing.. I use cheesecloth for my outer fabric. I think I get better color.
Mine didn’t work nearly as well. Followed the instructions to a T but mine are all very pale. Not much transferred. Some are still white. It was fun nonetheless.
This was awful! I bought ties 100% silk followed the directions perfectly was really excited and nothing got dyed. I got white eggs pretty sad I spend all that time on it I have pictures if you’d like to see
Hey Robbin, I’m so sorry it didn’t work out for you. It’s definitely unpredictable because all silk is different and some transfer better than others. That being said, I’ve made these every year for almost 10 years so I know it does work!
Thank you for a great explanation. I was looking online for a similar idea and really appreciate it
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I liked this ester special dying eggs. It is beautiful. i want to try it in the next year. the idea is great. I loved it.
I’ve been doing this for about 5 years now. I prefer cheese cloth for the outside layer, it keeps the tie tight and let’s the vinegar better coverage to the egg. We also wet the tie to form the best part of the pattern on our egg. I share your link when I lot my pictures. Everyone asks how to do it, hope you don’t mind.
I saw this done one the Martha Stewart show several years. I have done all of our eggs this
Way every year since. It so easy to do and I too get my ties at Good Will.
Our thrift store has dollar bag day. Anything you can fit in a Wal Mart sack for a buck. I got a whole sack full of silk ties for a dollar. I thought I got a really good deal.
SUCH a great deal!
I have an old white sheet that has little pink flowers on it. Can I use it to wrap around the silk?
Yep!
Tried this today. So much fun. A new tradition is to find the best tie for next Easter. Thinking silk scarves would work, too!!!
Can I reuse the pillow case pieces even though there is dye on them. I did wash and dry them.
Absolutely!
Years ago I remember using dyes to color wool. One of the instructions said to never again use the pot with the dye for cooking food. Do you think this applies to the dyes in a silk tie as well? Only asking because I just used my All Clad pot to make these wonderful eggs.
No, I think you should be just fine. Just wash your pot as normal, obviously!
Can you cook the eggs in a teflon pot?
Yep!
I have not tried this yet,but I am looking forward to doing this with my grandchildren tomorrow.
I believe that you can keep the complete, hard boiled and decorated eggs indefinitely – the inside just dries up !
Enjoy !
Fingers crossed mine come out as well as yours, I’m using a remnant of fabric I bought at Christmas.
When I was born, on a Good Friday, my parents were given a painted hard boiled egg. They still have it (from the early ’70s). So in answer to ‘how long will they last?’ – a very long time, though I would imagine the smell if it were ever broken to be beyond belief.