sewing 101: embroidered eggs
Some people may get spring fever, but around this time of year, I get egg fever. Egg decorating is, without a doubt, my all-time favorite holiday-crafting activity. When I came across an image recently of eggs made by Ukrainian folk artist Forostyuk Inna that were embroidered (yes, really embroidered!), my mind was officially blown. A way to combine egg decorating and sewing? Sign me up!
My research didn’t uncover much in the way of a how-to for this technique, so after much obsessing, I decided to give it a try on my own. To my surprise, sewing on eggs isn’t really difficult at all, once you get the hang of it! I know you don’t believe me, and this project truly does seem to defy the laws of physics. But just read on to learn the secret of sewing on eggs. — Brett Bara
CLICK HERE for the full how-to after the jump!
Materials
- raw eggs (I recommend using good-quality eggs, farm-raised if possible — they have much thicker shells than factory eggs.)
- Dremel or other rotary tool with a diamond cutting disc and mini drill bit
- embroidery floss
- long, thin needles
- small, sharp scissors
- craft glue
Instructions
In the steps that follow, I’ll show you how to make the egg above, but you can easily adapt these instructions to make just about any type of embroidery design you like.
1. Cut a hole in the egg.
The secret to sewing on eggshells is that you cut a small hole in the back of the egg. Now, I know what you’re thinking: you can’t cut an egg, it will shatter! Not true. Egg shells are actually quite cut-able with the right tools.
The trick is using a Dremel tool with a diamond cutting disc or other disc meant for delicate jobs. Hold the tool perpendicular to the egg as shown, and cut a round sliver from the edge of the egg. (The contents of the egg will splatter a bit, so do this over a sink.) I promise that with just a little practice, this will seem easy, and you’ll have nice, smooth cuts. Just give yourself a little time (and it doesn’t hurt to have some extra eggs on hand).
Note: The contents of the egg should not be eaten after cutting the egg with tools. If you want to save the egg contents, you can blow out the egg before this step, but this will result in extra holes in your shell.
Wash out the inside of the egg with a little dish soap and warm water and allow to dry. The image above shows how it will look when this step is done. (This hole is a bit large for demonstration purposes; you can cut smaller holes, which make for a nicer finished presentation.)
2. Mark the egg.
Using a pencil, draw some guide lines for the pattern you plan to make on your egg. You can draw simple lines to help keep your pattern straight, or you can sketch your complete design right on the egg. (The pencil lines will be removed later.)
Next, place a mini drill bit in your Dremel tool. (Oddly, the bits I have are not labeled with sizes, so I can’t recommend what size to get. Just look for tiny bits that are slightly larger than an embroidery needle.)
Begin to drill holes in each spot where your needle will be inserted. This is really the only tricky part of this whole project because the smooth surface of the egg makes it a little difficult to drill precisely, as the drill bit wants to slide around on the surface of the egg. But again, just practice until you get comfortable, and your results will improve. Otherwise, the drilling is easy. And believe it or not, the egg stands up to it very well. I didn’t have any cracking or breaking while I was drilling!
Once you’re all drilled, wipe the surface of the egg with white vinegar and a paper towel, and the pencil marks will come right off.
3. Embroider the egg.
Load your needle with 2 or 3 strands of embroidery floss, and knot the end of the floss. Then simply start sewing on the egg by bringing the needle up and down through the pre-drilled holes.
When you finish a color, leave the end of the embroidery floss hanging (it will be finished off later).
When your image is complete, all that’s left is to secure the ends of the embroidery floss. Unless you’re a surgeon, it would be very difficult to knot the ends of the thread inside the egg. So instead, secure each thread with a drop of glue on the inside of the shell. When the glue is dry, trim the end of the thread.
And you’re done! The possibilities are really endless with this technique — try dyeing your eggs before embroidering them, embroidering names or monograms or using other stitches. Have fun and happy spring!
My. mind. is. officially. blown.
Those might be the coolest things I’ve ever seen!
Beautiful! The work would be worth it as it seems these would last if packaged well.
ahh, i always decorate eggs in some new way but have never thought of embroidery! so pretty.
incredible! what an exercise in precision and patience, i’m incredibly impressed, they’re beautiful.
Very, very clever!!…and great looking too.
These are gorgeous. What a great idea!
very nice..unique idea..thanxxxxx for sharing honey :)
Seemingly defying the laws of physics makes them all the more delightful!
My goodness- they are so cool. I especially love the use of power tools in craft- so this is a winner int books. Roll on easter!
uh. may. zing!
absolutely beautiful
Those are pretty darn incredible!! They seem so challenging – I would never have thought that possible! But they are the perfect Easter decoration. I tried doing something similar (decoupaged Easter eggs, posted on my blog) but I have to say that I am even more in love with the idea of embroidering my Easter eggs! Thanks for such a great idea, and for trying it out yourself!
WOW! So beautiful, I can hardly wait to try this. Now to figure out what to do with all of the eggs…time to search for quiche recipes.
oh, wow. that is amazing.
Just had some chicks hatch. Think I will reuse the egg shells.
wow..great idea..we have a lot of duck eggs..these would look wonderful as the shells are harder than chicken eggs…..this is a gotta try craft for sure
love love love these! Is it possible to glue that small piece back onto the egg to cover?
This is phenomenal! I can’t wait to try this!
oh my god, just reading this post was exhausting. looks amazing but i don’t dare try this at home!
lol… “I know you don’t believe me… but…” That’s hilarious because I was totally thinking that as I was reading ;) Will have to give it a try someday, those eggs are super cute!
That looks so cool…and difficult! My grandparent’s were Ukrainian, so I grew up making Ukrainian Easter eggs (my mom has some amazing ones made by older family members). Actually, making the real thing seems a bit easier than this, although this is very cool looking.
this looks fun! Thanks for the project!
Very Very COOL! Great project!!
I’m vegan, but gosh these are pretty!
Oooh wow! I would have never dreamed you could sew on eggs! That is soooo cool! I just posted about eggs myself, except I used sidewalk chalk shaped like eggs from the $1 section at Target! http://www.budgetblonde.com/2011/04/chalk-it-up-to-spring-fever.html
These are amazing!! I love the embroidery work on the eggs.
How beautiful…and I thought pumpkins were challenging!
oMG! those are the cutest Easter eggs i have ever seen!!
This is so clever! What a cool idea!
This is very cool – it’s amazing what you can embroider on. A while ago I embroidered a wooden bowl using my dremel-type drill. You can see it here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/luizahenriqueschandy/
Wow this is amazing. i never knew you could sew eggs. its awesome. what a fun thing to do. great project.
Oh what fun.
I am so glad you had the nerve to give it a go! When I saw the embroidered eggs the other day, I too was blown away and could not figure it out. Thanks for being such a brave soul!
brave soul!
I absolutely love these, definitely a great project to impress the family!
What a fabulous idea. These eggs are so fantastic. Who would have ever thought?
Whoa. (She says in her best Keanu voice.)
I am so impressed!
It’s interesting to see how this is actually done! Thank you for trying it & giving us a glimpse into the ‘magic.’
What a great idea. Seeing the red embroidery floss on the white egg….i thought….how awesome would it be to make a bunch of BASEBALL easter eggs with stitching. Is it too late for this easter??? I don’t think so!!!
Thank you for figuring out how to embroider on eggs and for sharing. Brilliant! Love your designs. Definitely making. Again, thank you!
I saw how the Ukrainian master did it (see my photo from wikipedia ). She doesn’t drill a larger hole in the back of the egg!!! She embroiders with a special tool-needle :)
In regard to the comment from Qypchak about the special tool used for embroidering the eggs, have you got a link to show the tool. I couldn’t seem to find it, although, you mentioned in your comment to “see your photo from wikipedia” Thank you.
These are so cute. It’s too bad I saw this after Easter, but no matter! There’s always next year. :))
WOW
I’m sorry, it’s impressive but it’s a waste of food as well…
superb
Did you attempt to glue the back of the egg back on? Seems difficult, however they would look more finished.
Woow!!
Que trabajo majestuoso!
Felicitaciones!
Oh My Gosh – what an effort – seems a bit of a waste with all that egg going down the drain . .
Very nice work!!! I am going to try this.
Very nice work!! I am going to try this.
This is such a cool idea! I wonder if there would be a way to color them, cut them, spray shellac them to preserve them before you embroidered them?
Im sure you could blow out the egg the same way I do to pysanky. No easing of eggs then. I would put the blow out hole on the part that I was going to cut off. Also I don’t see why you couldn’t dye an egg first then drill it and embroider after. I would also varnish the dyed egg before embroidering it.
Thanks for the directions. However, if you look at some of the eggs on other sites – from rance, for instance, you can see them on stands where you can see the backs of the eggs, and they are solid backs, no holes, no backs cut off to embroider the front. Now how do they do THAT???
é lindo
Love it !!!
That is great! I might even go out and buy my own “power tool” to try this! Very impressive!
What a unique new technique for decorating eggs! I would never have thought of that. So fun!
How did you cover the hole on the back of the egg.
You can probably use a small crochet hook to tie the ends of the embroidery threads instead of just gluing.
very handy, I looked at them very beautiful
Very beautiful – i love these eggs and of course dremel what a fantastic tool
Beautiful work! My wife and I have developed a similar work , but do not open the back of the egg. We work with him structurally intact. Our work is inspired by the tradition of Ukrainian pysanky and cross-stitch embroidery . For those who have interest in this kind of art , just visit our website: http://www.pessankabordada.com.br/p/pessanka-bordada.html
Great blog! This is the first time I have visited your blog, and I love all of your designs. It looks so cute and easy to make. Many thanks for sharing with us!
Success stems from passion and creativity, wish you good job