Hello dear readers. The tradition of dyeing Easter eggs dates back to the distant past. Then our ancestors did not have the opportunity to use bright synthetic pigments. Therefore, natural means at hand were used for this. To this day, one of the most popular ways to give eggs a festive look for Easter is the technique of coloring with onion skins. But you shouldn’t immediately dismiss it, saying it’s too boring and banal. Firstly, this method is absolutely harmless to health. And secondly, with the help of such an affordable material you can get not only different shades, but also apply original patterns. And the possibility of creativity should not be discounted. How to paint eggs in onion skins - you will learn about all the nuances from this article.

Why do you paint eggs with onion skins?

Given the love for onions, it can be assumed that a lot of this material could always be prepared. It is cheap and is not used for food. In addition, with its help it was possible to obtain a beautiful, even shade with a reddish tint.

As you know, red eggs were the most preferred option for Easter celebrations. Why? There is an interesting legend about this.

After the death and subsequent resurrection of Christ, his followers dispersed throughout the world, spreading the news of this miracle and the opening of the heavenly gates to everyone. Mary Magdalena did not stand aside either. She decided not to go anywhere, but straight to the Roman emperor. It was impossible to show up to such an important person empty-handed.

That's why the girl took a chicken egg with her. She was strapped for money and could not afford any excesses in this regard. Moreover, the gift also had a symbolic meaning: the egg seems completely lifeless from the outside, but inside it lurks the germ of a new life.

Having presented her more than modest gift, Mary Magdalene announced to the great Tiberius about the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. To which the head of the Roman Empire responded indignantly that this simply could not happen. This is impossible, since miracles do not happen. And then the snow-white egg that he held in his hand turned red - the color of the blood of Christ, shed for the sins of all mortals.

This is how the tradition of giving Easter eggs a red tint arose. It became a tribute to the sacrifice of Jesus, a symbol of faith and hope in divine love.

How to dye eggs in onion skins

Everything here is extremely simple. Only the lazy will fail to cope with the task. First you need to prepare onion scales. You will need a lot of material - the more, the more saturated the final color will be.

Only the top layers, brown and dry, are selected. If you use juicy plates, the eggs will take on a greenish tint. And you won’t be able to store such raw materials for a long time - they can rot.

Many housewives believe that only white eggs should be selected for coloring. This opinion is wrong. Whites are more suitable for obtaining delicate, pastel tones. But eggs with brown shells are ideal for obtaining bright, rich colors.

After dyeing, whites will always be lighter, regardless of the color chosen or the dye used. If you want variety, use snow-white, beige, brownish, and speckled ones.

To prevent eggs from cracking, do not start cooking them when they are chilled. You should first remove them from the refrigerator and allow time to warm up to room temperature. This will take about an hour.

To prepare the coloring solution you will need a large container (at least three liters) and a lot of onion peelings. Please note that the pan or basin used for this will be stained from the inside. Therefore, either the vessel must be washed well, or you will need to take one that you don’t mind getting dirty. To obtain a concentrated dye, the selected container is filled to the maximum with onion raw materials and filled with water.

If you plan to boil the eggs with the husks, then it should be boiling water. Let the mixture sit for 1-2 hours. Next, add a pinch of salt, add cold eggs and set to cook. After boiling, 5-10 minutes should pass.

Then the container is removed from the heat and the solution is allowed to cool. Only after this the eggs are removed and dried. This method will give lighter color options.

There is another way. With its help you get a deep and even shade. Pour the onion skins with cold water and bring to a boil. After it is boiled over low heat for about 20 minutes, removed from the stove and the liquid is filtered.

Now it can be used to color already hard-boiled eggs, although some housewives also paint soft-boiled eggs. To do this, they are dipped in hot dye and boiled for some time.

The duration of dyeing affects the color:

Up to minutes - light, golden or beige.

2-3 minutes – orange or light brown

5-7 minutes or more – dark with a reddish tint.

It should be noted that the color is influenced by the color of the husk itself. If it is yellow, then the eggs will turn out yellowish-orange. Well, brown or reddish will give the corresponding shade.

How to paint eggs for Easter with onion skins with a design and pattern

Using various tricks, you can get various interesting color schemes. Below are ways to get all sorts of patterns and interesting effects.

For this you will need various materials.

1. Onion peels of different shades.

1. Chicken eggs.

1. Salt.

1. Paper.

1. Elastic bands or thick threads.

1. Rice cereal.

1. Lace.

1. A piece of gauze or old nylon tights.

1. Small leaves and flowers of various plants (parsley, begonias, cilantro, etc.).

1. Needle.

1. Insulating tape.

1. Wax.

1. Vegetable oil.

1. Cotton wool.

Eggs in a circle and speck

To obtain a speckled pattern, proceed in the same way as the previous method. Only here rice grains are used as auxiliary elements. The moistened egg is rolled in rice and wrapped in cheesecloth, securing its ends.

Instead of a gauze cut, you can use old ladies' tights, cutting them into large pieces. Prepared eggs are boiled in onion skins. Afterwards, the auxiliary materials are removed and the finished product is dried.

Here you can experiment using different cereals. For example, peas produce fairly large spots. And if you use olives cut into rings or wire insulation, you will get a spherical pattern.

Delicate ornament

An ornate pattern on the shell can be obtained if you use lace instead of threads. You don't have to buy expensive store-bought ones. If you have mastered the basics of crochet, you can knit openwork lace yourself in just a few minutes.

The resulting material is tightly wrapped around the egg. The edges can be secured with a few stitches or a knot.

Floral motifs

You need to find some small leaves. Salad greens (dill, parsley, etc.), indoor plants, or any of those that you can find in the yard this spring are suitable for this. Flowers are also suitable.

The collected samples are straightened and applied to the surface of the shell. A drop of water will help fix them temporarily. Now they need to be fixed with gauze or nylon.

Afterwards you can start painting. Keep in mind that plant pigments may leave colored marks on the shell, some green from the leaves and others depending on the color of the flower used.

Geometric shapes and different silhouettes

Such designs are achieved through the use of figures cut out of electrical tape. This can be an arbitrary geometric cut, animals, hearts, plot elements, letters, Easter symbols, etc.

The resulting pieces are well attached to the shell and do not require additional fixation. To avoid getting into trouble, try the method on one egg. Some types of electrical tape adhere tightly to the shell after boiling.

Color gradation

This method will be more complicated than the previous ones. An important point will be the selection of suitable containers. The eggs should be placed tightly in them, without the possibility of displacement. After they are securely placed, a rich onion broth is poured. It should only cover the eggs by a third. You need to use a boiled product.

Now you can place the container on the stove. Let them boil for about five minutes. Afterwards, add a little clean hot water, reducing the concentration of onion dye. The eggs should now be two-thirds covered with liquid.

After keeping them on the fire for about three minutes, you again need to add regular water, preferably hot, to the container. The broth should cover the eggs completely. We reduce the heat treatment time again. Now it will be enough to keep the eggs on the fire for one or two minutes. Afterwards the dye is drained.

The result was Easter eggs with a fairly smooth transition from rich to light tones. If desired, you can add water in very small portions, achieving even smoother transitions.

You will need scraps of onion peels of different shades and finely torn paper. The materials need to be mixed. The surface of the egg is moistened and rolled in the paper-onion mixture. Each egg with adhering material is wrapped in gauze and tied.

In this form they are boiled in the prepared broth. Processing time is about half an hour. After this, the eggs are removed from the improvised bags and freed from adhering debris.

You can also get some semblance of marbling if you crush dry or slightly soggy husks and tape them to the eggs with the same gauze.

Frost patterns

Using this method, you can apply various patterns to already painted eggs. To do this, you need to arm yourself with a regular needle and scratch lines and curls on the shell. In Ukraine, eggs processed using this technique are called “rags” or “shkryabanks” (from Ukrainian: scratch).

In this way you can create both simple patterns and entire plot paintings. It all depends on your desire and perseverance. The desired design can be applied with a simple pencil, and instead of a needle, use any pointed object, for example, a nail or an awl.

Striped eggs

To obtain narrow stripes, thick threads are used. They wrap the eggs tightly in any direction. It will be more convenient to use rubber bands. If you place them perpendicular to each other, symbolic crosses will appear on the surface of the shell. After preparation, the eggs should be boiled in the prepared dye.

Wax painting

This is the most time-consuming method. To apply the pattern you will need melted wax and a needle. Liquid wax is applied drop by drop and distributed so that certain figures are completely filled with it.

It should be taken into account that the areas covered with wax will then turn white. If this does not suit you, then use brown eggs or lightly tint white ones by briefly immersing them in a decoction of the husks.

Wax can be used to make drawings or inscriptions

To color painted eggs, you can only use refrigerated dye. Therefore, to obtain a deep color, its concentration must be maximum. Eggs are immersed in this broth for several hours. Then the wax pads can be carefully scraped off or melted by immersing the eggs in hot water.

Glossy effect

Eggs painted using any of the methods described above can be given a beautiful shine. To do this, just soak a cotton ball in any vegetable oil and rub the shell.

For guests and loved ones. We paint eggs and prepare crafts and gifts for children and adults. And how many different options for preparing all this splendor surround us. Head spin. Let's bring some order to this diversity. Today I want to organize the information and also tell you about how to paint eggs with onion skins. This is one of the easiest and cheapest ways to dye eggs for the holidays. But at the same time it does not become the most banal and uninteresting. But let's talk about everything in order.

Simple coloring of eggs with onion skins

The easiest way is to paint eggs with onion skins without additional designs or ornaments. An even, rich red-brown hue makes the eggs elegant and beautiful. In some ways it looks like rich mahogany, and if you rub the eggs with vegetable oil, it also shines like an expensive treasure coated with varnish.

Onion peels are a natural product, so there is not even a shadow of a doubt that eggs colored in this way will not cause any harm to either adults or children.

Onion peels for coloring can come from either regular white onions or red onions. Collect the peels from several onions of any variety and set aside in advance. To do this, you can have a special container in the kitchen, and every time you cook something with onions, put the peels into it.

From my experience, I can say that not many bulbs are needed. 5-6 pieces are enough to prepare a small pan of broth.

Another big advantage of this coloring is that eggs can be dyed both white and brown. We all know the situation of shopping around for good white eggs before Easter. Brown ones will also work now.

The final color of an already painted egg will, of course, be different. White eggs turn out more red, like the onion itself in the husk, and brown ones are redder and darker. You can buy both types of eggs and create a nice variety.

Painting stages:

1. Remove the eggs from the refrigerator, fill them with water at room temperature and let them stand for half an hour. The water will wash away all the dirt and stamps that are placed on many eggs in the factory. Wipe off what is not dissolved with a sponge. You can use baking soda.

2. Pour onion skins into an old saucepan. The pan is likely to stain, so choose dishes that you won't mind or that won't stick to anything.

3. Fill the husk with water and put it on the stove to boil. After boiling, cook the husk for about 20 minutes. It will begin to darken and its color will become more intense every minute. Then turn off the stove and leave the husks to cool naturally.

4. When the decoction of the husks has cooled, it’s time to start coloring the eggs in it. There are two possible ways. First: catch all the husks from the broth or strain and leave only the liquid, into which you can later put the eggs. Then the color of the eggs will be uniform. Second: put the eggs directly into the husks and cook with them. In this case, small stains and slight marbling may remain from the paint itself.

5. Place the eggs in the onion peel broth and turn on the stove again. Pour 1-2 teaspoons of salt into the broth so that the eggs do not leak out if they do burst. The eggs in the broth should boil and cook for 10-15 minutes. Then turn off the stove again.

6. Let the eggs sit in the broth until it cools down. After this they can be removed. Place the eggs on a paper towel or napkins and dry them.

7. Painted eggs will be matte and if you want an elegant shine, then take a cotton circle or a piece of gauze and rub the eggs with vegetable oil.

This is how you can paint eggs with onion peels without any patterns or designs, but if you want to add delicacy or designs, then before the cooking stage you should carry out small manipulations.

Pattern on eggs from leaves, flowers and twigs

The entire painting process will take place exactly as I described above. Only now, before we put the eggs in the finished broth, we must prepare them.

For patterns you will need leaves and twigs, you can take small flowers. Not everyone has flowers blooming outside their window at this time of year, and there aren’t always herbs available. But ordinary garden greens can be found in any store. Dill, parsley, cilantro, rosemary, tarragon - aromatic herbs with leaves of different shapes and sizes are perfect. You only need a few twigs and leaves. You can pick up a few different ones so that the entire testicle has an individual, unique pattern.

You will also need a thin nylon or mesh to attach the leaves to the egg. It is clear that they themselves will not be able to hold on in conditions of boiling water in a pan. A cut piece of elastic tights works great. And also thread or elastic to tie the nylon tightly to the egg.

Attach the leaf to the egg and wrap it with nylon. Tie the nylon tightly so that it fits tightly around the egg and holds the leaf in place. In this form, place the egg in a decoction of onion peels. Wrap the remaining eggs in the same way, place them in a saucepan and cook for 10-15 minutes in the broth.

After this, cool the eggs and remove the nylon along with the leaves. Their light imprint will remain in the place where they were glued.

It is important to note that white eggs should be dyed this way.

How to color eggs with onion skins and rice

The method of this coloring is very similar to the previous one. For it you will need thin mesh fabric, for example from nylon socks, and raw rice.

Moisten a clean, dry egg with water, then place it in a cup of rice and roll it in on all sides so that the rice sticks. Now wrap the egg along with the rice in a net, tie it tightly and send it to a saucepan with the broth to cook until completely coloured. For the egg to color, it must simmer in the broth for at least 10 minutes. Then cool the egg and remove the mesh with rice from it. To make the egg shine beautifully, it is coated with a very thin layer of vegetable oil.

A beautiful way to paint eggs with onion peels and threads (rubber bands)

Eggs with stripes and patterns can be made using threads or thin rubber bands. Before dyeing, wind a thick thread around the egg in different directions. You can wind the thread in a spiral or two threads perpendicular to each other. You will get beautiful patterns.

You can also take thin rubber bands and wrap them around the egg. Just not too tight so that the egg does not crack from the pressure; it is still raw and fragile before cooking.

I have already shared my proven ones with you, today I want to talk about such an interesting way of decorating eggs as painting with onion skins. The color can range from brown to deep red. The more onion peels are used for painting, the more juicy and bright the color of the eggs will be.

This time I didn’t get a lot of peel (out of 4 onions), so the color wasn’t too red, but rather brown. But if you take a lot of husks, you get a very rich, bright burgundy color.

For painting you need:

• Onion peels - the more the better

How to color eggs in onion skins:

So, put the prepared onion peels into a saucepan, add water to about half the volume and boil the peels for a few minutes until they give off color, then cook the eggs in this water with the peels. This is the first way.

You can do it the second way. Place the onion skins in a saucepan, place the eggs on top, add water until it completely covers the eggs, bring to a boil and cook for 10 minutes.

That's all, coloring eggs in onion skins is as easy as pie and you get a beautiful color from light brown to burgundy red!

Eggs painted in this way can be additionally painted with acrylic or gouache paints, or festive Easter stickers can be placed on them. Children will especially enjoy this creative process!

Painting eggs with onion skins for Easter is not only beautiful, but also healthy. After all, industrial dyes, which are often used to color eggs for Easter, color not only the shell, but also the white.

There are many natural dyes that can be used to make eggs not only festive, but also safe. But the undisputed leader among natural ingredients is onion peel.

Painting eggs with onion skins is very simple, but you need to know a few secrets to ensure that the color is rich and uniform.

How to prepare eggs for coloring for Easter 2019:

– To prevent eggs from bursting during cooking, remove them from the refrigerator at least half an hour before cooking. Or you can soak them in cold water for 15 minutes

– before painting, wash the eggs well with soap. It is better to use an old toothbrush for washing;

Eggs colored with onion skins for Easter 2019

– after you paint the eggs, rub each of them with a napkin soaked in vegetable oil. This will give a glossy shine;

– eggs, optionally colored with natural dyes, should be plain. You can wrap each one with gauze with rice grains, ribbons or threads and only then dip it into the dye. This will create interesting patterns on the surface.

How to paint eggs with onion skins for Easter 2019

Ingredients:
- eggs;
– a few handfuls of onion peels;
– parsley leaves (optional);
– dry rice (optional);
- oil.

How to paint eggs with onion skins for Easter - ingredients

Remove the eggs from the refrigerator at least half an hour before cooking. Wash them well with soap. For a marbled effect, it is better to use white eggs, and you will get a richer color from eggs with dark shells.

Boil the husks for at least an hour

Pour water over the onion skins, bring to a boil and cook for about 1 hour. Place the eggs in the onion peel broth that has cooled to room temperature and boil for another 15 minutes. Then let the eggs cool.

Place the eggs in the onion skins and boil for another 15 minutes

How to decorate eggs for Easter with specks? Take a wet egg, roll it in dry rice and wrap it tightly with gauze, securing the ends (by the way, many housewives successfully use women's tights).

Eggs colored with onion skins and rice for Easter 2019

The eggs will turn out “marbled” with an interesting pattern if you place them directly in onion peels, then wrap them in gauze and tightly wrap them with threads on top.

Eggs colored with onion skins for Easter 2019

You can also attach parsley leaves (or other small herbs) to the egg and also wrap it tightly with gauze. This way you will get the desired drawing.

Eggs colored with onion skins and parsley for Easter 2019

Happy Easter!

Last year I wanted to conduct an experiment - and see what the color of Easter dyes would be if I used onion peels as a coloring component, but not ordinary ones, but blue ones. I fantasized and really saw how I was opening a new niche - dyeing eggs deep blue with natural dyes. By the way, I already received the blue color - when, but, in fairness, it is worth admitting that the result is more like a dirty blue color than blue. Very handsome - no doubt about it. It's pastel, a little vintage and very, very beautiful. But not blue. I wanted to dye eggs blue for Easter using natural dyes. In general, I decided that I would succeed, and I would be the first to show the world how to dye eggs blue without store-bought chemical dyes. What can I tell you? I decided to decide, but in the end it turned out oops - it turned out that if you paint eggs with onion skins collected from blue onions, the result will be absolutely identical to what you get if you paint eggs with the skins of ordinary golden-orange onions. In general, I show and tell - step by step, so that you believe and do not follow in my footsteps in an attempt to reinvent the wheel.

Easter, which had been awaited for so long, passed away in a day.
English proverb

Most likely, you have already known for a long time how to dye eggs in onion peels. And I still recommend looking through the material - I’m sure you’ll still see something new for yourself, and if you don’t see it, then you’re great, and for this it’s still worth going through the cut!

Step 1. Mine

Be sure to wash the eggs before painting. We remove possible dirt, factory stamp with production date and other troubles that can easily spoil the overall picture of the finished paints. Have you washed? Dry it.

Step 2. Husk

We'll definitely go over it. If suddenly there is a spoiled leaf lying around in the bag, remove it - during the cooking process it stinks so much that you will want to throw out all the eggs in bulk. Place in a saucepan. The more husk there is, the deeper and more saturated the color will be.

Step 3. Available materials

We go to the park and collect leaves and flowers. And we’re preparing a couple of holey nylon tights. And at the same time - rubber bands.

Step 4. Assembly

Here you need to get the hang of it - stick the leaves and flowers in such a way that they lie as tightly as possible, evenly and without bending, and at the same time they are held well by a piece of nylon tights. By the way, you can attach the leaves with water - it helps. The rest is sleight of hand. Try it.

Step 5. Cooking

Carefully place the eggs in the pan, trying to ensure that they lie between the husks and are evenly covered with them on all sides. Fill with water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, simmer over low heat for at least 15 minutes, then leave the eggs in water with the husks for at least 5 hours.

Step 6. Final stage

We take the eggs out of the water, remove the excess, and wipe with napkins. In general, that's all.

As you can see, there is no blue color. But still beautiful! We admire with all our might and set the table.