Pysanka-Making Supplies:
The Basics
Basic Supplies:
What are the most basic items that you will need to make pysanky? There aren’t really that many,and they’re fairly inexpensive.
Clean, raw eggs at room temperature. The eggs should be carefully checked for cracks; this can be done by “candling” them (examining them in front of a light or candle).
The eggs should be soaked in a weak vinegar solution (2 or 3 tablespoons of vinegar to a cup of water) just prior to dyeing in the first dye bath (i.e. after the white areas of the design have been “written”).
The eggs should be at room temperature; if they are cold, the wax will not stick properly, and the eggs will “sweat” (water will condense upon them), ruining the look of the dye. Luba Perchyshyn suggests using only eggs that have been at room temperature for at least five days, but a few hours will usually do. Even warming eggs with warm water to rapidly bring them to room temperature will do in a pinch.
The eggs must be raw––cooking them damages the shell, and the dyes will not take properly. Some people prefer eggs that have been emptied and the holes plugged with a bit of wax. Such eggs will float in the dye instead of sinking, and must be weighed down. A slotted spoon or a potato masher is useful for holding down emptied eggs (or older eggs which have evaporated a bit).
Prepared dyes, also at room temperature. Dyes should be prepared following the directions on the packet. Most call for vinegar to be added; the vinegar is a weak acid, and allows the dye to bind properly 
with the surface of the egg. A few of the dyes, particularly the oranges, do not need vinegar; in fact, adding it will ruin the dye. (The need for vinegar is noted prominently on the dye packet.) Allow the dyes to cool completely before using them; hot dyes may melt the wax, ruining the pysanka.
To learn more about dyes, go here.
If you wish to find out more about the chemistry of aniline dyes, click here to go to the “Chemistry of Pysankarstvo” section.
Spoons. Necessary for dyeing the eggs. I buy sets of four two metal tablespoons at the dollar store (prices have gone up!). Big tablespoons are the best. Plastic tablespoons should be avoided, as they are not usually strong enough to safely transport eggs in and out of the dye.
You might also want to pick up a large plastic slotted spoon or two; these are a bit gentler on the eggs, and I use them to lift eggs in and out of my vinegar rinse (see below). On those occasions when my eggs don’t want to sink all the way down into the dye, I can also use them to hold the eggs down.
One note on spoon storage–keep the metal ones in a non-glass container. The constant banging of spoons against the wall of a glass jar will eventually break it, even a nice, sturdy jar like the one in the photo at the top of this page.
Vinegar. This is needed as a sort of “setting solution” for the dyes; with the exception of orange, the vinegar is needed to help the dye attach as well as it can to the eggshell. (See Chemistry for a more 
detailed explanation.)
A tablespoon of dye is added to most (but not all) commercial aniline dye preparations when mixing them up. There are exceptions, and they vary by manufacturer: UGS orange, for example, will fall out of solution into a gooey particulate mass if you add vinegar (and the dye won’t stick to the egg, either). Make sure you ALWAYS check the dye packet instructions before adding vinegar to ANY dye.
Older dyes (those saved from previous years) can be revitalized by adding a tablespoon or two of vinegar. Helen Badulak, in her book “Pysanky in the 21st Century,” suggests adding two tablespoons of dye every two weeks for colors that are used frequently. Then again, she makes a LOT of pysanky!
A vinegar “rinse” solution is used to clean the eggs before dyeing them; this is prepared by adding 2 or 3 tablespoons of vinegar to a cup of water. The eggs are soaked in this solution for a few minutes (I leave them in until small bubbles form on the surface of the egg) just prior to dyeing. This does not clean the surface of the egg--that should be dome with a mild soap prior to beginning to apply the wax design.
I use ordinary white vinegar, and buy it in the large plastic jug, pouring it off into smaller containers for ease of use. The vinegar will not go bad, and can be saved from year to year. If you have too much vinegar, and need some ideas for how to use it up, go here.
Beeswax. Pysanka making is a batik method, and the wax is used to write the designs. Beeswax can be bought in small cakes from most merchants who sell pysanka supplies Other types of waxes should NOT be substituted; paraffin and most other waxes have lower melting points than beeswax, and will smear or not stick to the egg properly. In addition, unlike the other waxes, heating beeswax turns it black, making it easy to see the design once it has been applied.
The beeswax must be quite pure; that which can be obtained from beekeepers is often full of debris. This debris can clog up the stylus, making the pysanka-making process very frustrating. Make sure any beeswax you buy and use has been strained properly.
Stylus. This is also known as a pysachok, pysal’tse or kystka/kistka. It is the instrument used for writing with the wax on the egg. Traditionally, a piece of thin brass was wrapped around a needle, forming a hollow cone. This was attached to a small stick (willow was preferred) with wire or horsehair.
Traditional style styluses are still made, but wooden dowels have replaced willow sticks, and the cones come in a variety of tip sizes–fine, medium and wide.
Styluses are now made with more modern materials, with those made with non-flammable delrin plastic handles gaining in popularity.
An electric version of the stylus has been commercially available since the 1970s. Their cone which keeps the melted beeswax at a constant temperature, allowing for more consistently even lines.
These newer styluses (whether electric or not) sport machined heads; the cone has become a metal reservoir which holds a much larger amount of melted beeswax. The tips on these cones can be better machined, with sizes ranging from extra-fine to extra-wide in the electric models.
To learn more about styluses, go here.
Candles. Candles are necessary for heating the beeswax when writing designs, and removing the wax once done. Some pysanka makers like tea lights, but these can have a weak flame, and accumulate molten wax. The same is true for votives, and both are difficult to use to remove wax in the traditional manner, as the flame is harder to access.
I prefer traditional tapered candles. You can use left over tapers from other occasions (holidays, intimate dinners), or buy short tapers at the dollar store. I use those often sold as “Emergency” candles because they are are short and cheap. Tall candles are hard to work with, and I’ve often sawed them in two for this reason.
Two other options are an alcohol lamps or a small oil lamp. They have the advantage of a constant flame at a constant height, and they both probably smoke less than a candle (the alcohol lamp having the advantage here). These are the better option if making drop-pull pysanky in the traditional manner (using the “can of beans, spoon and duct tape” apparatus). Small oil lamps can be purchased at craft stores; alcohol lamps need to be purchased through a chemistry supply house.
Candle Holder. This doesn’t have to be anything fancy. You can attach a candle (with hot wax) to a jar lid or even a piece of cardboard–I’ve often done this in a pinch. But it’s best to have something a bit more stable, so I prefer a candle holder that the candle nests into snugly, and this reduces the risk of the candle tipping over and starting a fire. Also, a nice glass candle holder gives you a convenient place to safely rest your styluses. (Holder on left is a simple glass bowl with a wavy edge.)
I buy heavy glass holders at the dollar store; garage sales and rummage sales, or even K-Mart are other good sources of cheap but sturdy candle holders. But never, ever Walmart!!!
Matches or a lighter. You’ll need to light the candle. It’s good to keep these around for the inevitable re-lighting, and to melt the bottom of the candle to seat it in its holder. When teaching classes to children, it’s best to keep these in your pocket, as they serve as a very strong temptation to young boys. I prefer the old-fashioned wooden kitchen matches, as they tend to stay lit longer.
Pencil. This is used for drawing guide lines onto the egg. There is disagreement as to whether a hard or soft pencil is best. A hard pencil––2.5 or 3––makes very light lines. A softer pencil––2––makes darker lines and smears more readily, but seems to come off more easily at the end. The pencil lines should come off when the wax is removed. (See this section for removal of pencil lines.)
That said, I’ve come to prefer mechanical pencils. They have a much finer point, and don’t need constant sharpening.
Paper products. This includes newspapers to cover the work area, paper towels for drying the egg after dyeing, removing the wax (with candle), and finishing the wax removal with a cleaning solution.
Viva paper towels are my favorite for patting the eggs dry after dyeing; they are very thick and soft, and absorb the dye well. They can be reused many times over once they’ve dried.
I like to cover my work area with paper towels; I am happy to place newspapers under the dyes and everywhere else, but the dye can rub off onto the eggs, so I use a few sheets of paper towel where I will be working (sometimes over newspaper). Regular paper towels, such as Bounty, are adequate for this purpose. When the become covered with drips and lines (from testing my stylus), I set them aside to use in wax removal.
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