These Charts Will Help You Dye Easter Eggs Any Color of the Rainbow—Including Pastel, Dark, and Neon Hues

If Easter were a color, it would be as varied and vibrant as spring itself. New-grass green, robin's egg blue, and bunny-nose pink are all part of the patchwork of April. With the resurgence of spring and Easter on the horizon comes the age-old tradition of dyeing brightly colored eggs. To create a rainbow of hues, ranging from eye-popping neons to pretty pastels, it helps to have a formula that indicates how many drops of each color you'll need to accomplish your vision.

How to Dye an Easter Egg

Before dyeing eggs, protect your work area with paper towels or newspaper. Wipe your eggs with white vinegar to help them receive dye more evenly. Once your prep is done, you can get to the exciting part of dyeing your Easter eggs. To create different tints of color, vary dipping times:

1. Mix 1 teaspoon of white vinegar and 1 cup of hot water in a heatproof bowl, cup, or jar deep enough to let your submerge an egg completely.
2. Add liquid food coloring as indicated below for each hue.
3. Submerge eggs in dye using tongs.
4. Remove eggs once time is up (indicated in the charts below).

When using more than one color on an egg, it's best to use similar colors, such as green and blue or red and orange. Different colors, such as red and green, tend to look muddy if they overlap. If you're making multiple batches, consider building an egg-drying rack with flathead pins and a foam board. This will prevent the color from pooling and drying in an uneven fashion, and it can be saved for use year after year.

Pastel Hues

To dye pretty pastel eggs, dip them in the colored water for shorter periods of time. Follow this formula and the chart below to guide you: Color Desired = Drops Per Cup of Water + Minutes.

Dark Hues

Want to make more richly hued, saturated eggs? Leave them in the water for longer (in some cases more than 10 minutes). Follow this formula and the chart below to guide you: Color Desired = Drops Per Cup of Water + Minutes.

Neon Hues

To bring a bright pop of color to your eggs, use neon-tinted dye and watch the soak time (it can be anywhere from 1 to 25 minutes depending on your goal). Follow this formula and the chart below to guide you: Color Desired = Drops Per Cup of Water + Minutes.