Flower Print Eggs: A Natural Egg Dyeing Tutorial

Flower Print Eggs with Easy Natural Dye

using ingredients you'll find in the kitchen and pantry

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Dyeing Eggs in Rome, Italy, Spring 2018

When I was growing up, we always used those supermarket kits with little tablets that dissolve in water and give brilliant colors. But after having kids, trying to do things in a way more inspired by natural materials and processes became really important to me, and dying eggs with chemical dyes just wasn't appealing. 

So, I first made nature print eggs using natural dyes two years ago, when my daughter Lily was 4. She's now 6, and I have a son who is 3... and we're still using natural dyes to do our annual egg coloring! 

This year we're in spending the spring in Rome, Italy... and we dyed eggs using our favorite methods here! It worked beautifully.

The cheapest pantyhose I could find was 2 euros a pair. I could only find brown eggs at the supermarket! After the fact I've seen white eggs in other stores, but the brown eggs came out quite lovely. 

Unwrapping is the best part.

The original post from 2016 follows... read on for the photo tutorial!

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I've been a bit obsessed with decorating eggs with natural materials and dyes this year. It's great to do with my four year old daughter. I also love how they capture some of the ephemeral beauty of spring!

The most beautiful results have been with flowers. I had no idea they would turn out so beautifully!

Here's how you do it. It's very easy, a great project for kids or adults.

You need:
--Nylon pantyhose
--String
--Eggs (You can use blown eggs or raw eggs)
--Flowers
--Natural dye plants-- this year I used red cabbage (1/2 head), yellow onion skins (from 3 lbs of onions), and powdered tumeric (about 2 tablespoons).
--White vinegar

Where to get flowers in early spring? This year in the Finger Lakes we found hellebores, crocuses, and snowdrops in the garden and in the nearby woods. If you are gathering wild flowers, make sure to only pick a few so that there are lots left to make seeds. You can also use store bought flowers-- supermarket bouquets that are a bit past their prime (and on sale) would be perfect.

Position a flower on your egg. Use water to moisten the petals and help them to stay in place.

Wrap the egg with a piece of nylon pantyhose. Pull it tight around your egg, holding the flower flat against the surface. Tie with a piece of string.

Prepare your natural materials. For the onions, peel off the outer papery layer. For the cabbage, tear the leaves into chunks, or roughly chop.

Purple cabbage and the nylon wrapped eggs in the stock pot. Those blown eggs want to float!

Place the dye material in a large stock pot, and fill with cold water so that the eggs are covered. Bring to a boil. Allow to simmer for at least 1 hour. After one hour, turn off the heat, add 2 tbsp of vinegar per pot and allow the eggs to sit in the colored water until the desired color is reached. If you want a dark color, you might need to let it sit overnight.

The added benefit of this method is that your raw eggs will be hard boiled without an extra step. If you are dying blown eggs, you might need to put something on top to keep the eggs submerged-- a lid from a smaller pot might work.

Then, cut the nylon and peel off the flower to see your beautiful results!

Alternate method (or a method to keep the dying fun going): Boil the dye materials in the stockpot until reduced to about 1 quart of liquid. Strain and reserve the liquid. To dye your eggs, submerge for a couple hours or overnight, depending on how concentrated the liquid is and how dark you want your eggs.

Dying eggs in canning jars with the strained liquid. Left to right: onion peels, tumeric, purple cabbage.

Here are some results to give you an idea of how your eggs will turn out.

Above: Crocuses with purple cabbage, Crocus on an egg dipped in the onion skin dye then soaked in tumeric, snowdrows on an egg soaked in onion skin dye, hellebores on a egg simmered in onion skin dye. 

Above Left: grass in red cabbage dye, Above Center: leaves in tumeric dye, Above Right: Crocus in red cabbage dye.

Other natural materials work well too! The left egg is myrtle, the other two are weeds in our yard. All of these eggs were simmered in onion skin dye.

It is fun to experiement! This was a very unexpected result... we soaked some eggs in cranberry juice, and they came out not at all red, but etched, looking almost like fossils. Must be some kind of reaction at work, anyone know the chemistry of this? I can't really recommend it thought... the eggs in that batch are very fragile, three have broken already!

Another lovely flower egg: Hellebores in red cabbage dye.

Have fun! I would love to see your results, post them at instagram and tag @unlikelynest, #flowerprintegg.

Bunny Loveys made by you!

It's bunny season! My sewing machine is a thousand miles away, so I'm sewing vicariously with all of you who are making the Bunny Lovey pattern this spring. There are so many lovely variations, from classic to creative!

I'm just loving these Bunny Loveys made in Sherpa, they just look so snuggly soft! These are from Cedar Bee Made and Martin N. Mae.

A post shared by Cedar Bee (@cedarbeemade) on Feb 17, 2018 at 1:31pm PST

A post shared by martin.n.mae (@martin.n.mae) on Feb 24, 2018 at 12:40pm PST

Is there anything so sweet as a white white bunny? So classic and adorable. These are by Sunday Design Studio and Bethany Wells (Mama Sew Colorful).

A post shared by Sunday Design Studio (@sunday.design.studio) on May 26, 2017 at 6:21am PDT

A post shared by Bethany Wells (@mamasewcolorful) on Sep 24, 2016 at 10:15am PDT

What fun prints! Just loving these bunnies in fun prints by Lil Things by Aimee and Lori Sapp.

And, take a look at these designs that incorporate fun colors, fabrics, and textures by Charity Sue Design and Brandi Henderson (SixThirtyStitch).

A post shared by Charity Sue Design Studio (@charity.sue.design.studio) on Sep 10, 2017 at 6:02pm PDT

A post shared by Brandi Henderson (@stitchthirtysix) on Feb 8, 2018 at 9:55am PST

Here are a few more designs by Melissa Barnett of martin.n.mae. She chooses such wonderful prints.

A post shared by martin.n.mae (@martin.n.mae) on Mar 19, 2017 at 7:29pm PDT

A post shared by martin.n.mae (@martin.n.mae) on Jun 6, 2017 at 11:21am PDT

And here are a couple of designs by Sunday Design Studio. I love how they have such a distinctive modern style.

A post shared by Sunday Design Studio (@sunday.design.studio) on Mar 27, 2018 at 9:57am PDT

A post shared by Sunday Design Studio (@sunday.design.studio) on Dec 16, 2017 at 2:42pm PST

Aren't these sets by Rainbow Hill Designs just lovely? What an incredible present for a new tiny person.

A post shared by Rainbow Hill Innovations (@rainbowhillinnovations) on Jan 8, 2017 at 3:12pm PST

A post shared by Rainbow Hill Innovations (@rainbowhillinnovations) on Sep 17, 2017 at 3:23pm PDT

Are you inspired yet? There's still time to make a Bunny Lovey, you can get the pattern here.

A handmade 10x10 wardrobe... for 7 weeks and counting!

Hello from Rome! I apologize for not posting for ages, but my excuse is that I've been a bit preoccupied with the joys and trials of living abroad. 

Since the focus of this blog is sewing and DIY projects, I don't talk very much about my daily life. However, you may have picked up on the fact that I'm an artist and a professor, and I primarily teach photography and video. This semester I'm teaching abroad in Rome, Italy. I'm about halfway through my four month stay. 

And that brings me to the topic of this post, a winter 10x10 wardrobe challenge. The 10x10 wardrobe challenge was the idea of Lee Vosburgh of Stylebee, and it's gotten a lot of attention in the sewing community. The idea behind the 10x10 challenge is to really take a close look at your wardrobe and to choose 10 pieces to live with for 10 days. In a commodity culture with easy cheap fashion all around us, the 10x10 is an exercise in minimalism and an opportunity to slow down.

Those of us that sew often invest an incredible amount of time, energy, and money into the pieces we make. There are many reasons to sew wardrobe items, but many of us are interested in sustainability and in creating pieces that fit our bodies and our personal style in ways that mass produced fashion is unable to do. 

This time I decided to really hone down my packing... I really wanted all of my clothes to fit into one carry-on size suitcase. And I had to pack for two seasons! That means I pretty much was unable to take more than 10 winter items. So far, I've been living with these 10 winter items for about 7 weeks!

Here are my 10 items. Most of these are unblogged... admittedly, I had a huge sewing spree right before I left!

Black merino wool cardigan

The Lisbon Cardigan by Itch to Stitch in midweight merino wool from The Fabric Store. I love the Lisbon pattern, it is such a classic design, and it is beautifully drafted. You can seem my review and another version here.

I finally decided to try merino wool from The Fabric Store this fall-- it is of the highest quality, and sustainably produced. However, I can't wear it against my skin comfortably. I made a long sleeve t-shirt from the 180gsm Premium and it didn't make the cut because I'm just too sensitive to wear it without a silk undershirt. But it makes a lovely cardigan.

Gray cashmere asymmetric cardigan

This piece has been in my collection for at least 5 or 6 years, I think I probably made it in my first year of sewing for my wardrobe, before I started blogging regularly. It was a very long, drapey cardigan, but I refashioned it this fall to be a little more practical. The fabric is just incredible, I purchased it from Marcy Tilton and I've never seen anything like it since. It is a double-layer knit, with the two layers loosely sewn together. It is the warmest, softest fabric I've ever seen or felt.

Black fine linen shirt

My favorite shirt ever. Made with the Liesl Classic Shirt pattern in fine linen from The Fabrics-store, with jet black corozo buttons. My review of the Liesl Classic Shirt pattern is here. This is their "IC64" linen which is a medium weight but has a higher thread count. It is just a bit classier and has a lovely feel.

White fine linen shirt

The fact that I can in fact wear white is a revelation-- I always thought I would just spoil a white shirt on the first wearing. As it turns out, I wear this shirt once, sometimes twice a week and it has been just fine. I do try to avoid wearing it on days when there is a high likelihood of staining (like when I'm cooking, or when I'm with the kids all day). I also avoid anti-perspirant deodorants when wearing white to prevent yellowing- either I go with a natural brand or I go without.

There is just nothing like a crisp white shirt. As above, this is the Liesl Classic Shirt pattern in IC64 linen from The Fabrics-store, with extra thick shell buttons.

Black stretch twill Sasha Trouser/Ginger Jeans hybrid

These are my favorite pants ever. I like the classiness of the Sasha Trouser, but quite honestly, I hate those slash pockets, they just bag out on me in the dorkiest way no matter what I do. And I guess the reversed fly is classic, but I can't get used to it. So I used the front of the Ginger Jeans pattern for the curved pockets that lie nice and flat against my body and the unfussy fly, and the back of the Sasha Trouser pattern for the classy welt pockets and darts. If you are interested, this is my review of the Sasha Trouser and the Ginger Jeans (both by Closet Case Files). Since they are both drafted on the same block, they are pretty interchangable!

The stretch twill is from Elegant Fabrics in New York. I couldn't find a truly wonderful black stretch twill at any of my usual online shops, and that wasn't for any lack of trying (swatching, even ordering a few pieces). When I had to be in New York City to obtain my visa, I dropped into Elegant Fabrics and fingered their twills until I found this one. It is lovely-- beautifully stretchy, weighty but not heavy, and velvety soft. There was just enough on the roll to make one pair of pants!

Black tencel twill shirt

Same pattern- Liesl's Classic Shirt, in a gorgeous tencel twill from Threadbare Fabrics. This is the same fabric that I made my long sleeve Kalle in, but the fit on the Kalle is not quite right somehow. So glad I had another piece of this twill (it has sold out!), and in the Liesl pattern this shirt is amazing.

Cream tencel twill shirt

Yes, another Liesl Classic Shirt, in a creamy tencel twill from Emmaonesock. I love subtle color and the silk-like texture, but it is much easier to wear and wash than silk.

Black Ginger Jeans

Another new make! This is a denim from Mood Fabrics. I can't tell you much about it, I just went and fingered all of the denims until I found one that felt right, and since it was a classic off-black denim, I overdyed it with RIT. I added red bar tacks, just for fun. Ginger Jeans by Closet Case Files review here.

Black Dansko Aurora Boots

These are oddly perfect boots for my feet. I can't even wear the famous Dansko clogs-- I have a pair at home that I need to just sell, since they are basically unworn and I find them too stiff to wear. I can't really explain it, but I can walk miles in these boots, unlike any other shoe or boot I've tried. In Rome, where transportation can be spotty, one does literally end up walking miles. I think it might have to do with the toe box being unusually roomy, my feet love that, and the soles have just the right amount of stiffness and flexibility.  I don't love the slouchy style, but I can bear it if my feet are happy. I wore the first pair into the ground, this is my second pair, purchased on Ebay.

Brown Dansko Scout Boots

These are my back up boots. When I first got them I thought they were terribly uncomfortable, but they've broken in well and are my favorite boots when not in Rome. I love the warm reddish brown color. However, on days when I know I'll be hiking it, I wear the Auroras! Purchased like new on Ebay.

10 pieces, 10 looks

Style Notes

I love the simplicity of dressing with these 10 pieces. Everything goes with everything... really and truly. There is only one one real decision-- white shirt or black? If I'm spending the day with the kids, or it is that time of the month... black! If the sun is shining and there might be an opportunity to strut in a piazza with my jacket thrown over my shoulder-- white! Otherwise, it really doesn't matter.

Also, doing laundry is also incredibly simple. White wash, black wash. No special care needed, just wash cold and hang to dry, on hangers. The linen and tencel shirts mostly dry overnight. I keep oxyclean on hand for any accidents on the white shirts, and I have had to use it, to excellent effect.

Keeping the wash simple is especially important here since there are no DRYERS. Which is totally fine for my clothes, which I never dry anyway. However, this totally sucks for endless loads of kids clothes, towels, sheets, etc. I understand the energy savings of a city without dryers, etc, but was the person who decided on this policy a working mom?

In the interest of full disclosure, I do have two black linen shirts with me (both the same pattern), and two pairs black Ginger Jeans. This is does help make laundry a bit less stressful, especially since the jeans can take 2-3 days to dry completely. Also, I've had to alter one pair... the waistband on the newer pair of jeans stretched too much and I had to take it in an inch, by hand. That pair was out of commission for a good two weeks. (I miss my sewing machine-- I even considered talking it somewhere and having someone do it for me, but I couldn't quite bring myself to do that with my handmade jeans!) I also have a pair of cargos and a blue denim Kalle that I wear on weekends or evenings, for hanging out around the house or running errands in the neighborhood.

I am a total fan of the button down shirt. I love its versatility-- it looks great dressed up or down. I totally feel appropriate every day, whether I'm lecturing, chilling at a bar, or splurging on an aperativo in a classy location. I love that its cuffs and plackets allow for easy styling of totally different looks, and also provide instant temperature control.

I also think linen is the perfect fabric, summer and winter. Linen dries fast and stains come out with very little effort. The shirts have wonderful texture when hung to dry, but can also be pressed with steam for a crisp look. Linen is so incredibly cool in the heat, and I've found it to be surprisingly insulating in the winter, especially when paired with a wool cardigan or sweater. In really cold weather, I wear a silk undershirt for extra coziness. I do want to try making some shirts in a really lovely cotton which I might end up loving also, but I didn't quite get to that before I left.

I know for many people, my palette of white, black and gray would be too plain. For me, though, while I love looking at bright colors and patterns, I don't always feel the need to wear them. When I have a lot of patterns and colors in my wardrobe, I tire of them and want new colors and patterns. Also, I worry that people will notice if I wear the same pattern over and over again-- but if you wear a button down shirt every day, no one thinks you don't do your laundry. Oddly enough, I'm much LESS bored with my wardrobe this time than I was the last time I was abroad for a semester when I brought lots of patterned t-shirts.

My white/black shirts and black pants are a personal uniform, and at this time and place in my life, this is sort of liberating. It is sort of like a blank canvas, over which I can be myself.

Lately, if I feel the need for color or pattern, my favorite way to express myself is to wear a bright lipstick. I thought perhaps if I was bored I would buy some fun scarves or jewelry, but I haven't felt the need.

I love living with this smaller, simpler wardrobe... and now I'm wondering if I'll be able to translate that into reducing my wardrobe when I return home.