We love the versatility of wooden peg dolls, but have had a hard time finding readily available ones in a spectrum of skin tones. We naturally dye wooden eggs every year with much success, so why not peg dolls?! We also already have a lot of unfinished wood peg dolls at home and always try to use what we have before purchasing something new. I love non-toxic natural dyes that are made with easily obtainable ingredients, so we’ll be using coffee, black tea and walnut hull powder to create our dyes. The depth of color that you achieve depends on how concentrated your dye is and how long the item is soaked for. We’ll be soaking our peg dolls in varying time increments to achieve a spectrum of beautiful natural skin tones. These recipes are really forgiving so you can easily make adjustments and still have good results! After you are finished dyeing them, they can be painted or sealed with a beeswax polish or other non-toxic/food-safe wood sealant. They’re great for imaginative play as-is, or you can add felt clothing or nature items for accents.
Materials:
– wooden peg dolls
– saucepan
– strainer
– white vinegar
– glass jars (I use canning jars)
– dye materials (black tea, instant coffee or coffee beans, walnut hull powder)
Instructions to Make Natural Dye:
BLACK TEA DYE (a couple tea bags + 1c water + 1 tbs white vinegar)
Bring your water to a boil. Reduce heat and steep tea bags for about 15-20 minutes. Remove from heat. Let cool to room temperature and remove the tea bags or any loose tea. Add 1 tablespoon vinegar and stir.
COFFEE DYE
Brew a cup or two of black coffee using twice the amount of beans you would normally. Let cool to room temperature. Add 1 tablespoon of vinegar and stir.
WALNUT HULL DYE (1 tablespoon powder + 1c water + 1 tbs white vinegar)
Bring your water to a boil. Add 1 tablespoon walnut hull powder. Reduce heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes. Remove from heat. Let cool to room temperature. Add 1 tablespoon vinegar and stir.
How to Naturally Dye Wood Peg Dolls:
Step 1: Pour your cool dyed into several clean glass jars. We typically use canning jars since we always have them on hand. Use a spoon to lower each wooden peg doll into the dye. Make sure that they are completely submerged. They will naturally want to float to the top, so you’ll need to place a weight on top of each to keep them submerged. I use a large spoon as a weight.
Step 2: Let soak for a couple hours up to 24 hours, stirring every so often to ensure even coloring. To achieve different shades: Remove the peg dolls from each dye bath at varying times. See picture above for notes on times.
Step 3: As each peg doll is done soaking, remove from the dye and let dry completely. After they are dried they can be sealed with a beeswax polish or any other food-safe wood sealant.
Gitty Appelbaum says
Hi!
Do you ever find that dyeing peg dolls like these makes them swell a little. My wood peg dolls fit into small bean pot cups when they were raw, but after dyeing them, they could not fit in any more. I appreciate any advice you can offer.
Woodlark says
Hi Gitty,
Yes the wood can swell slightly which may leave the finish a little rough after they’ve dried and that may be just enough to cause them not to fit. I’d wet sand them very lightly with a fine sandpaper (400 grit or higher) and see if that helps!
Ashley
Michele says
I wonder walnut dye would cause allergic reactions to some users? Is there alternative to walnuts dye to achieve similar results?
Woodlark says
Hi Michele,
Yes, if someone is allergic to tree nuts you could have a reaction to using the dye. I’ve had good results with henna but there are some people who are allergic to that as well. Good luck!
– Ashley
Michele says
Thanks Ashley – I will experiment with tea, coffee and onion first then 🙂 have you tried exposing the dolls longer than a day? I wonder if that darkens the result. Xxx
Woodlark says
Hi Michele,
Yes we have left them in longer up to around 48 hours I found that our results were slightly darker but the increase past the 24 hour mark was nominal. Rather than soaking longer I would experiment with making a more concentrated dye instead and soaking for 24 hours! Good luck! Would love to hear how it goes.
– Ashley
Daphne says
Hi do you have a post about how to deal them with beeswax? I’m completely new to this.
Woodlark says
Hi Daphne,
You can simply sand them using a fine grit sandpaper and then use a beeswax polish. I sell the one that I use in my shop. Here’s a link: https://www.woodlarkshop.com/products/all-natural-wood-polish
Natalie says
Is there a residue smell of vinegar/coffee/tea? Planning in making some for SEN children but smell could be an issue.
Woodlark says
Hi Natalie!
That’s a great question– there is a little bit of a residue smell at first and if you’re sealing them the wood polish can have a little bit of a natural wax smell as well but I find that the smell dissipates over time. It really depends how sensitive the children are. If you decide to try them, I’d let them sit outside for a day or two so that they air out quickly. Hope this is helpful!
– Ashley
Malon Coles says
The oiled wooden peg dolls still feel greasy after two coats of cutting board oil and have sat for 3 days. It does not seem to absorb. what do I do
Woodlark says
What type of oil did you use?
– Ashley