How to Make Silk Tie Easter Eggs

Gather Materials

As you are gathering your materials, consider heading to the thrift store to score your ties. You can usually find a really great selection at a low price point. These 100% silk ties were a dollar each. Speaking of which, be sure that any tie you find has that 100% silk tag on it. The fabric must be pure silk (meaning no polyester or other types of fibers) for the dye to transfer properly to the egg.

If you don't have silk ties, any kind of silk will do! Scarves, dresses, handkerchiefs, and more.

Cut Fabric

Start taking apart the silk ties to gather as much of the silk fabric as possible. Gently cut apart any stitches on the back of your first tie that are holding it together and remove any lining from the inside. You'll mainly be using the bottom, wider part of the tie, so once you get up to the more narrow tapered end (about halfway up the tie), you can cut that off. Remove any stitching and cut your silk into pieces that are roughly five inches square.

Wrap the Silk

Next, you'll wrap your eggs in the silk squares. Firstly, be sure that the right side of the fabric is making contact with the surface of the egg, to ensure that the dye will adhere. Also, you want to make sure that as much of the pattern as possible is wrapped flat and taut against the surface of the egg. It's inevitable that the fabric will fold in places, but keep in mind that wherever it folds you'll have a break in the pattern and color. That being said, sometimes those imperfections are the prettiest parts!

Once your fabric is wrapped as flat as possible around the egg, gather it and secure tightly with a rubber band.

Wrap in Cotton

After your egg is wrapped tightly in silk, repeat the process with a square of white cotton fabric. (This could be anything, even an old sheet or pillowcase.)

Repeat Steps 3 and 4 with all of your eggs.

Add Vinegar

Once all of your eggs are wrapped, place them gently in a pot. Add four tablespoons of white vinegar; this helps the process of transferring the dye from the silk to the surface of the eggs.

Boil

Add enough water to completely cover all of the eggs. Bring water to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and continue to simmer for 20 minutes.

Allow to Cool

After 20 minutes has passed, remove the pot from heat and carefully pull each egg out of the water, placing them on a safe surface to dry. If they're too hot to touch, use tongs to grab them by the extra fabric and remove them from the water.

Unwrap

Here comes the big reveal! Gently cut away the rubber bands from the cotton layer, unwrap, and cut away the rubber band from the silk layer as well. Pull away the fabric to reveal the fun pattern left behind by the silk tie!

Let Eggs Cool and Add Accents

Allow the eggs to thoroughly cool and dry. If you'd like to add a bit of sheen to accentuate the colors and patterns, you have the option to rub the eggshells with a drop of vegetable oil.

Display

Place your eggs out on display. These look so pretty in small baskets with a little Easter grass, or in individual egg cups. Have fun!