More Silk Dyed Egg Experiments and Tips for Vibrant, Shiny Eggs

Silk Dyed Eggs in CartonYesterday Kelly shared a great post on how to reuse silk ties for egg dyes.  A couple times a week my mom and I watch Martha Stewart together and we were just as eager as Kelly to try this egg dying technique.  Mom went thrifting at Goodwill to find cheap silk ties and blouses that were definitely past their prime.  

We used the large end of the ties to cut out a large swatch to cover an egg, but we saw a lot of waste with the rest of the tie.  To use up the remaining skinny part of the tie we cut strips to wrap around the eggs.  This resulted in alternating colors and patterns around the egg…a truly stunning effect.  Keep reading to find out how we did it.

Step by Step for Silk Strip Dyed Eggs:

  1. Cut 1/2 inch to 1 inch strips about 8 inches long from the skinny end of a 100% silk tie.Egg Dying with Strips
  2. Arrange the strips as shown in the above picture.
  3. Place bottom of egg in the center of the strips.
  4. Pull strips up over top of egg to “wrap” egg.  We put the eggs back in the carton while we were wrapping them.
  5. Secure strips at top of egg with a twist tie, piece of string, or rubber band.
  6. Wrap egg again with a piece of white cloth.  We cut up an old, stain dish towel.
  7. Boil and simmer eggs in water and vinegar solution according to Martha’s Tutorial.
  8. Cool wrapped eggs on a rack with paper towels beneath to catch any dye drippings.Silk Strip Dyed Egg
  9. Carefully unwrap eggs.

Tips for vibrant, shiny eggs:Eggs in Bowl

  • Use 100% silk fabric with saturated color, bright and bold patterns
  • Boil and then simmer for at least 20 minutes, for better color saturation boil for 40 minutes or more (if you don’t plan on eating the egg)
  • Wrap egg tightly in silk to prevent white spots.  For solid color or less interesting silk prints, wrap the egg loosely so parts of the egg remain white after dying causing a marbled effect (like on the red egg in the bowl above).Reversible Silk Eggs
  • Try putting wrong side of woven silk against egg.  Inthe picture to the right, the two eggs on the left came from the same piece of fabric and two on the right came from the same piece of fabric.
  • Rub finished eggs with vegetable oil to make them shiny.
  • We also discovered it is best to keep red/purple eggs in a separate pot from lighter colors.  The strong red and purple dyes will even bleed through the white cloths.
  • Save your silk swatches for next year – they can all be reused to dye more eggs.

14 thoughts on “More Silk Dyed Egg Experiments and Tips for Vibrant, Shiny Eggs”

  1. I truly enjoy the many crafts and creations you share on this site. I would love to try this silk tie egg transfer. I would like to see how it transfers to other mediums besides eggs. Say just a round ball (made of a material that won’t melt in the boiling water)for decorations in a bowl as a center-piece.

    Thank you for always having a great selection of ideas and for taking the first steps at trying some recommended projects. Great to follow your instructions. Now if I could just get my creations to look as great as yours. Maybe I should ask how many eggs you had to dye to get some to look so beautiful.

  2. We actually only died 18 eggs. The six that are not shown did not turn out very well, because the silk we used was white with a single color floral design. Without a lot of color and definition in the silk pattern the eggs were very blah with only a little mottled color.

    We had the best luck with bright colors and color saturated patterns. Good luck.

  3. Darla truttschel

    I tried twice and only got white eggs. Does the material have to be real silk? I brought pieces of “silky” material . Does the pot have to be glass or enamel or can it be metal?

  4. These are beautiful and I can’t wait to try it! If I’m going to make the effort I would want to blow the eggs first (ie make them hollow) so I can keep them year after year. But then I might have trouble submersing them to dye them (they’ll want to float). I think it would work to blow them, wrap them in the silk and then attach a weight to the twist tie that you use at the top, to keep them under water. woo hoo!

  5. Pingback: Silk-Dyed Easter Eggs | Teal and Lime

  6. The fabric has to be real silk. The reason this works is that silk and eggs are both protein based. The dyes used to dye silk are acid dyes, when you change the PH of the water bath with the vinegar, the dyes transfer.

  7. I saw an article where a lady had done these and she boiled or gently simmered them for several hours. Which means you can store and keep them Hers was sealed with a hard shiny covering and last permanently. Anyone have an idea what you could seal them with that is very glossy and hard?

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