On the eve of Easter I wanted to share a traditional method of dyeing Easter eggs in onion peel broth with a preliminary pattern applying using an insulation tape (polyvinylchloride tape).

1. You need the following:

- eggs

- insulation tape

- blade

- scissors

- notepad for sketches

- ball point pen

- onion peel

You can use raw or bolied eggs. You can take a tape of any colour except black, because marks are poorly seen on it.

I used a simple blade — just plastered one of the shart sides with the tape for safety. You can use other cutting tools, but I prefer the blade.

I also prefer to use onion peel, it is safe and the colour is beautiful. You can never have too much onion peel, the more you have, the richer the colour.

2. The sketch. My mother loves the diamond pattern, she says, like Faberge. You can cut out silhouettes of churches, letters, anything what your fancy prompts you. Here are some rough sketches:

3. For the diamond pattern, cut tape strips of 1.5-2 mm width and 7-8 cm length. Long strips, in my opinion, are easier to cut with scissors with long blades.

According to my sketch, stick the insulating tape to the top and bottom of the egg. It is desirable that the lines are parallel to each other. Like 2 hoops on a barrel.

Make marks with the pen on the both strips to easier stick next strips. I usually make 12 equal marks. The marks should be symmetrical.

Now stick the strips between the upper and lower hoops. First in one direction. Then in another, so that the strips formed sufficiently smooth diamonds, as much as thу form of the egg allows.

Carefully cut off long strips with the blade.

The net is made, add crosses.

To do this, cut the tape in small pieces of 10-12 mm long and 1.5-2 wide, it is easier to do with small scissors.

Stick these small strips at the intersection of the tops of the rhombuses. First, all the vertical stripes, then all horizontal, or vice versa, as you want.

Press the finished pattern properly for a better adhesion of the tape and the egg shell.

4. For the pattern with letters, I glued 2 pieces of the tape of 2-2,5 cm length close to each other.

Draw the letters with the pen.

Cut out the letters with the blade and remove all unnecessary parts from the shell.

Next, stick strips like on the preceding egg to give the pattern a finished look.

Neatly press the finished pattern for a better adhesion.

5. Stick 3 strips of the tape for the pattern with a church. The Central strip is about 4-5 cm and the two others are 3-3,5 cm.

Draw the pattern with the pen.

Cut the pattern with the blade. remove the excess of the tape.

6. The eggs are ready for dyeing. Onion peels (the more the better) should boil in water. If the eggs are already cooked, you can put them into the hot broth. If raw, then the broth should be cool. Boil the eggs in the cooled broth for 10 minutes after boiling. Then leave them in the broth. I left for 5-6 hours, to make the colour richer.

Another point — to make the colour more even, strain the broth or wrap each egg in a cloth bandage or gauze. The onion peels may stick to the eggs, and the colour would become uneven. So I usually tie each egg with a piece of bandage.

7. The eggs are dyed, take them out of the broth and carefully remove the tape.

8. When the eggs are completely dry, apply some vegetable oil for shine. In a little while, oil soaks into the shell and does not dirty hands.

That's all!

Thank you for your attention!