Make It! Egg Garland

Last year, I shared one of my very first tutorials on how to dye eggs with thrifted silk ties. You can find that tutorial at the bottom of this post here. (Excuse the poor photos - I was still what I consider a newbie to the blogging world back then.)

With Easter right around the corner and spring beckoning outside, we've started dyeing eggs again. This time, we've been blowing them out before dyeing them so that they can last indefinitely. There are many ways to blow an egg out - my preferred method, which took many poorly blown eggs to discover is so simple. I use the two hole method and I use a bead reamer to make the holes which the whites and yolk pass through. You can find them here on Amazon.com. The reviews aren't stellar as far as actual bead reaming go, but for egg blowing they are perfect! The bead reamer has a diamond like coating on it, which allows it to pierce the egg shell easily with gentle pressure and twisting. The resulting hole is perfectly shaped. Make sure to blow your egg yolks into a bowl if you want to use them. They will store in the fridge for up to 3 days.

The dyeing method for blown eggs is egg-sactly the same as with raw eggs. You do need to exercise caution, so as not to crush the egg shells. Once your eggs are all wrapped up in their pretty silk and white linen, gently place them in your nonreactive pot full of water and vinegar. They will float, but it won't matter. You'll be covering your pot with a lid and simmering these eggs for 20 minutes. The fabric covering them WILL get wet and the pattern will transfer. I usually give them a stir about 1/2 through the simmering time just for good measure. After we remove our blown eggs from their water bath, we allow them to cool to the touch. Be aware, blown eggs will fill with HOT water while simmering. Be careful that they are fully cool before you blow out any water that has accumulated in the shells.

To make our egg garland I cut a length of hemp rope slightly longer than the width of our fireplace mantel. I puzzled over how to thread my eggs for a bit. A darning needle probably would have worked well, but I didn't have one on hand so I improvised by straightening a paper clip and taping it to one end of the hemp rope.



The hemp rope was now easy to thread through each egg.

I continued threading the eggs onto the rope slowly. As you add new eggs you want to make sure they don't hit the eggs already on the rope with too much force, or you might crack a shell or two. Once your egg garland is the length you want it, simple knot it off on either end and hang it where you want it. Ours graces the mantel.
I love how delicate this garland looks - and how it sweetly reminds me of spring every time I look at it. By the way - aren't those daffodils on the mantel so precious? A dear friend gave them to me during a mom's night out to celebrate February and March birthdays. (And my birthday isn't even until autumn. I feel well loved.)


What I love about dyeing eggs this way, is that you never know exactly how the silk images will transfer. Unwrapping each egg is like unwrapping a little springtime present - a gift from nature.

Of course you could make your garland with any manner of blown eggs. Plain white, brown, dyed a different way. The point is to have fun.

Springtime blessings,
Simple Mama