I thought it might be fun to share a craft “project” for Easter today. Last year, a friend of mine, Beth, brought over some of these “silk tie” eggs that she had done, but I never took the time to do them. I decided I was going to “make” time this year because they are pretty easy to do and you never know how they will turn out…. I took pictures along the way as I did mine, so you can follow me as you do yours!
The basic idea is to wrap silk ties around eggs, and then the dye transfers to the eggs in boiling water. When you unwrap them, you’ll find a sweet surprise…
Okay, who’s game?
You’ll need a variety of 100% silk ties.., make sure the ties have that little tag on them because some polyester’s are pretty close to the feel of real silk. The large black print on the right side is a piece of silk that Beth gave me last year. It was from a jacket lining.
If you click on any picture it will enlarge.
Ties are constructed very simply, so they are easy to dissect. You’ll need a seam ripper and undo the bar tack on the underside. There is a long thread running up the tie on the inside. Usually you can pull it and the whole tie will gather up. Clip that thread and pull it out, and your tie will open up. Then you just have to snip at getting the satin pointed lining out. Many times it’s done with a chain stitch so if you know which way to pull it, it will come out in one pull…
You can deconstruct a half dozen ties in about 15 minutes… (You don’t have to worry about the very narrow end. It’s too small to do anything with so you can just clip it off at about 2-3″ if you like.
You’ll need fresh eggs, preferably white, twist ties, and white vinegar…
You can do your eggs 2 different ways… wrapped on their sides, as I did mine, or you can gather up your silk to the narrow end of your egg… If you have your eggs sitting up on end, it’s pretty to do them this way. I figured mine would be laying down on their sides…
Take an egg and place it NEAR the end of the tie, (RIGHT SIDE OF THE TIE TOUCHING THE EGG) and figure out how much of the tie you need to wrap around the egg… (NOW DON’T DO WHAT I DID… AND WRAP THE EGG WITH THE PRETTY SIDE SHOWING ON THE OUTSIDE… THE PRETTY SIDE HAS TO GO ON THE INSIDE.)
Actually I wrapped all these next eggs wrong and had to redo them. Again, the right side of the silk should be next to the egg. Some silks are hard to tell the right side from the wrong side, so maybe take a safety pin and pin it on the right side to keep it straight. (this is what they should look like, ONLY with the right side on the inside.)
So here are all my eggs, redone, the right way, with the right side of the fabric touching the eggs… Use the twist ties to snug up the fabric on the eggs.. the tighter the fit the better your design will come out…
Next you will need to take some white fabric: a pillow case, a sheet, or just cotton fabric, as I did… Wrap this around the eggs and use a twist tie to hold it in place.
When you get them all wrapped up like little presents, they are ready to go in a pan of water that has had 1/4 cup of white vinegar added to it. Make sure the water covers all your eggs… the white tails can stick out… but the eggs need to be totally in the water.
Bring them to a boil for 20-25 minutes…
When they are done, transfer them to a colander and let them cool.
When they are cool enough to handle, you can begin undoing the twist ties and unwrapping them… It’s pretty exciting to see what you have created…This is what mine turned out like…. not perfect, but I like them.
Here they are in a basket… My favorite ones happened to be the black ones using the silk jacket lining … who knew the eggs would turn out so pretty using it?
You can take a little vegetable oil and rub on them to make them shine…
Now, wasn’t that fun? There are lots of tutorials on Pinterest if you’d like to see more… I’m going to try them again sometime… and I think I’ll keep an eye out for silk ties or silk anything now, just in case… :o)
See you tomorrow,
Blessings, Jeanne
Looks like fun, Jeanne! I have gotten out of the practice of decorating eggs, mainly due to the fact it is so messy, and the kids would just put an egg in every color, making them all turn gray or brown! They just loved making a mess I guess, so I never really caught on to making pretty ones. This year I’m going to try this! Michael has gobs of ties in his closet, since he had to wear a tie everyday at work, and they are just hanging there. Have to check for the silk ones and if it is OK with him first, or I will be in trouble!!
Thank you so much for showing this, since I never get on Pinterest, just no time for it.
HI Linda,
I’m glad you have some ties at your disposal so you can give this a try… please send me some pics of yours if you do it! I have an idea that I’m wanting to give a try now that I’ve done it once…
I only look at Pinterest at night right before I go to sleep. I’m laying there in bed and grab my ipad and scan over the newest things until I get to the things I looked at last night…
Sometimes I look on there for a recipe… :o)
Thanks Linda,
Happy “Tie” Dying… :o)
Blessings, Jeanne
Those eggs are so pretty. My husband doesn’t have enough ties to steal any so it sounds like I would have to go thrift store shopping. Oh gee, what a shame. I guess it’s lucky that I love thrift store shopping.
Thanks so much for posting the tutorial.
Hope you have a good day.
Take care.
HI Charlotte,
I hope you find a couple of ties on your thrift shop outing! It’s a pretty simple way to make a fun gift. Beth came over this morning to see them in person and she said you can reuse the silk again…hmmm… I might have to use it again and see how dark it comes out…
I’m glad you enjoyed it… and if you do make any, be sure and take a few pics!
Blessings, Jeanne
They are so pretty, I wonder if the eggs could be blown first and then dyed? Then they could be used again. After seeing those ties, I’m picturing a lovely dolly quilt or chair pillow. Guess there will be a run on ties at local thrift stores. I’ve noticed they have increased quite a bit in price even used. Vintage ties you know.
Woke up to yet more rain! We may hit 60″ this year. Double last year in the drought.
HI Joy,
Yes, the eggs can be blown out…in fact there is some handy dandy tool that helps you get it all cleaned out… but I have forgotten the name of it… There was even a tutorial on how use it, but I didn’t watch it.
The ties at my Goodwill store were $2.00, and I bought 5, but I could probably find them cheaper at the Salvation Army thrift store in a town a little ways from here. I’ll also keep an eye out for them at yard sales this summer.
More rain, huh? Don’t float away… :o)
Blessings, Jeanne
What a nice tutorial for Easter weekend, Jeanne, and what beautiful eggs you have created! My son has many ties, but I don’t know if he wants to part with any. I want to try this craft sometime, but I have a few questions first. Please don’t think they are silly! 1) I see that Joy asked about blown eggs, but were your eggs raw or hard-boiled BEFORE you began to wrap them? 2) Do you place the eggs in COLD water and bring them up to a boil and boil for 20-25 minutes from that point, or drop them into (already) boiling water and time them? (When I hard boil eggs, I place them in cold water, bring to a boil, then cover and turn off the heat before timing). 3) Can you peel and eat the eggs once they have been dyed? There is always something new and fun on your blog, Jeanne. Thanks for sharing this lovely craft project for Easter! I’m off to “Eggs, Paws, and Claws” at the Columbus Zoo tomorrow for an egg hunt with the animals. Easter blessings to you and all your readers!
HI Anne,
I’m glad you enjoyed the post on the Silk Tie Easter Eggs. It was fun to do and while I’m no expert, I do know a little bit. The eggs are fresh eggs, not hard boiled to begin with. I did put them in cold water and brought them to a boil and let them boil in the water for 25 minutes. You can eat the eggs if you like, but they should be refrigerated if you are going to do that. I kept mine in the basket all night, so I won’t be eating mine.
I wanted to give them a try again today but did slips instead… maybe tomorrow…
Have fun on your egg hunt!
Blessings, Jeanne
Wow Jeanne, your silk tie results turned out beautiful for the Easter eggs…the eggs look so elegant and expensive… like you tediously painted each one!!
I wish you and all your readers a blessed Happy Easter!
Thanks Paula,
It was really a fun project and I’d really like to get better at it… I’m going to read a few more tutorials and pick up any more hints I can pass along.
I hope you have a wonderful weekend too…
Blessings, Jeanne
I especially liked the paisley eggs. The idea of using the same tie twice seems like an interesting one. I’ll find out tomorrow if you were curious enough to try it.
HI Marilyn,
I tossed my ties from last night in the trash so I’ll have to give the ties another try and then try them a second time sometime. My friend, Beth, came over to see them today and she loved them. She did it last year and said she used her ties twice…
I was working on slips today… sorry no eggs today… I’ll have to wait until we have enough white eggs to do some more. We only have one hen that lays white eggs, the rest lay brown ones.
Thanks Marilyn,
Blessings, Jeanne