Colorful Easter Eggs... Naturally
(Page 2 of 3)
March/April 1983
By the Mother Earth News editors
One thing to be aware of when using any natural coloring materials is that the shades produced will likely not be as brilliant as those hues that come from packaged dyes. So don't be disappointed by muted results ... instead — with a little experimentation go on to turn out a whole basketful of softly colored eggs. The following time-tested "recipes" can provide you with general guidelines, but once you've begun to experiment with plant dyes, you'll probably want to branch out and try some of your own concoctions.
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THE WARM COLORS
You can produce varying shades of red, from pastel pink to dark maroon, by us ing the juice of pokeberries (the glossy purplish — and generally considered to be poisonous — fruit of the pokeweed plant), blackberries, strawberries, raspberries, or cranberries ... but you'll probably achieve the most consistent results with beet dye. To make it, first cook several whole, fresh beets until they're tender and then chop them into tiny pieces. Next, turn off the heat and soak the minced vegetables in their own cooking liquid for several hours. Later, strain out the beets, add a bit of vinegar to the color bath, lower the eggs into it, and leave them there until they take on the degree of rosiness you like.
A wealth of other materials found in nature will produce orange or yellow tints. The flowers of calendula (or pot marigold), which are sometimes used in hair rinses to give golden highlights, can also produce a light yellow egg dye. Brown onion skins — when boiled — give a burnt orange color ... while an infusion of yellow onion skins will turn eggs any shade from light yellow to deep gold (depending, again, on how long they're allowed to steep in the liquid).
Earth tones, of course, are quite easy to achieve with natural materials. Coffee grounds produce a light tan, while chips of maple bark will brew into a rust-colored liquid. For dark brown dyes, you might try simmering walnut hulls and bark, or even witch hazel bark.
THE COOL COLORS
It's easy to achieve beautiful shades of blue with materials gathered from your yard or found in your kitchen. Indigo root is commonly used to create deep blue colors for fabric dyeing ... but you might have trouble finding a stand of that rare plant. As an alternative — believe it or not — try red cabbage. Chop up one small head of the vegetable and simmer it for about 20 minutes, or until it turns soft and dark green. Strain off the resulting blue (surprise!) liquid, and immerse the eggs in it long enough to produce the desired shade of light blue or turquoise.
