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You are here: Home / Nature Activities / Dye an egg for Easter
Materials for dyeing eggs

Materials for dyeing eggs

Dye an egg for Easter

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Dyeing eggs is relatively easy to do. Here we dye an egg with onion skins – wait until you see what happens!

Easter eggs – real eggs, not the chocolate ones – have been painted and dyed around Easter time for centuries.

What you need

  • Eggs… obviously!
  • An onion or two
  • A pan with water
  • A cloth (optional)

Additional dyes to try

  • Beetroot
  • Blueberries
  • Food colouring
  • Spices

What to do

Ask an adult to help as this involves hot water!

  1. Take a piece of cloth, big enough to put an egg in (still in its shell)
  2. Place about 6 layers of the dry onion skins on the cloth (tear them up small)
Gently boiling onion skins in a pan
Gently boiling onion skins
  1. Scatter some dry rice over the skins (this makes a great pattern on the shell)
  2. Place your egg on the skins and wrap the cloth firmly around the egg – twisting the top, use an elastic band to keep it tight
  3. Put the wrapped egg in a pan of gently boiling water for about 30 minutes
    This MUST be done by a parent as water is hot
  4. After 30 minutes ask an adult take the egg out the water and leave to cool in the cloth (at least 15 minutes)
  5. Unwrap your egg – wait until you see how your egg now looks!
Finished eggs dyed with onions and blueberries
Finished eggs dyed with onions (centre) and blueberries (outside)
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