I love the way dolls can bring comfort and joy by their mere existence. That is why I named my newest twin peg wooden dolls “Comfort” and “Joy.” These dolls are tiny, but their presence is mighty.
Comfort and Joy are 6.5” tall peg wooden dolls made from two Gail Wilson kits. I received the kits more than a year ago but set them aside. I could tell this project was going to take some time. Each kit had wooden parts that were laser cut and a resin molded head. There were several pages of instructions along with paper patterns for the clothing.
I thought my readers might be curious about the steps I used to finish them. I hope this will give people an appreciation of how small does not mean simple. Peg wooden dolls are quite time consuming to make, even from a kit.
Resin head
The heads were molded from resin. The instructions said to use only acrylic paints that had been cured with a heat gun. I didn’t have a heat gun, but the paint from the kit seemed to adhere without one. I painted two layers of skin tone, then used clear Minwax Polycrylic Satin as a sealer before painting the face. The kit included a Mod Podge sealer, but Minwax Polycrylic is my preferred clear coat. It has low odor, is easy to apply with a soft brush and cleans up with soap and water.
Body
Although the laser cutter had done the initial shaping, the body required a good deal of refining and smoothing. I used knives and a power carver (with ruby bits) to round off the edges. Then I did the final smoothing with sandpaper.
Legs and Feet
Each lower leg had a hole in the bottom for the foot peg. After rounding off the legs, the area around the peg hole was less than 1/32” thick in places. I was quite concerned about breakage. To prevent this, I carefully glued the feet in place with the pegs before sanding and carving the boots. This also made it a lot easier to work on the tiny feet.
Super Glue
The tiny delicate parts worried me, because wooden peg joints are fragile. I decided to use some super glue for reinforcement. Super glue works great to strengthen wood, and it can be sanded and painted. However, if you plan to use a stain, be aware that the glue will prevent the stain from soaking into the wood. If you try it, use the thin kind (not a gel), like this BondXtra CA Glue from Home Depot.
It came with a refill bottle, application bottle and several precision tips. I used gloves when applying the glue, because I didn’t want to accidentally glue my fingers when holding the tiny items. I applied the glue all over the upper and lower arms and the lower legs. Then I left the parts to dry overnight.
Arms
The arm axle design seemed overly complicated. The pieces included a dowel inside a larger tube, which was then secured inside the body with a piece of wire. The loose dowel would have made it impossible for the arm to hold a pose.
I decided to change the design. Included in my kit was another wooden dowel to be inserted in the neck hole when gluing the axles. I noticed that this 1/4” dowel was exactly the right size to fit in the arm hole. So I carved a more traditional peg joint: a cylinder with a slot to hold it in place, so each arm can rotate independently. I have used this same type of joint for Hitty’s arms. I had to carve four pieces of dowel for the shoulder joints. Then I drilled two holes in the back of the torso for pegs, to secure the arms and still allow them to turn.
PAINTING THE FACE
Gail’s painting instructions were quite thorough. She described exactly how to paint the facial features, step by step.
I tried to mimic her style but ended up changing the eyes and eyebrows slightly. If you look carefully, you can see that the eyes are round instead of u-shaped, and the eyebrows are tilted to give the dolls more expression.
The oil paint in the kit to be used for cheeks had dried out. Instead I used colored artist’s chalk pastels. I applied a blush of pink, using the Q-tips from the kit. To seal the chalk pastels, I sprayed the cheeks with Mr. Super Clear Matte spray.
Painting the Body
I gave the lower limbs an undercoat of white acrylic gesso. Then I used two coats of the pink body color. The shoes were painted black to give the appearance of boots.
To darken the wood color, I painted the upper limbs and body with an Oak color acrylic Gel Stain. It turned out too dark, so I sanded it all off.
Then I repainted the parts with a lighter, custom mix golden stain. This time I was happier with the color, and the layered look created a nice patina.
Antiquing
Before antiquing, I sealed all the parts with Minwax Polycrylic Satin. I made my own custom mix of brown acrylic paint diluted with a matte medium, to help it flow and add transparency. I brushed it on and quickly wiped it off with a scrap of t-shirt fabric.
Assembly
An important tip when assembling peg wooden dolls is to always test fit the joints. Because none of the pieces are identical, it can take some fiddling to get a joint to fit properly. My advice is to spend plenty of time on this step, even if it tests your patience!
Once I had all the pieces ready to glue, I started by gluing the pegs for the upper legs to the lower legs. Then I sanded off the pegs and touched up the peg holes with matching paint. TIP: label your legs so you know which is which!
Next, I glued the upper arms to the shoulder joints, then added the lower arms.
After that, I connected the legs to the torso. Lastly, I added pegs in the back of the torso to secure the arm assemblies.
Attaching the Head
The dowel rod attached to the head was 1/4” too long, so I cut off the end before inserting the head. The instructions called for a tiny metal pin to hold the head in place through a hole in the doll’s back. My kit did not have a pre-drilled hole. But I was able to push the pin through the torso and into the neck dowel to hold the head securely. Then I used the wood filler included in the kit to hide the pin hole. I painted over the filler and added a final layer of sealer. I finished them on Christmas day!
Stands
Even after painting and assembly the leg joints were all quite loose. It was clear that the dolls would need stands for support. I found a small doll stand, but it was too short. In the back of the stand, I put a wooden coffee stirrer, cut to the right length. Over that I slipped a piece of a plastic straw. The coffee stirrer added strength, and the plastic straw acted as an extender for the stand. This same trick works well for Hitty dolls, too!
Clothing
Now the dolls were ready to dress. I made their dresses and pantalets using Gail’s pattern, which was similar to her pattern to make “Hitty’s Simple Dress.” It has gathers at the square neckline, the bottom of the sleeves and at the waistline. The style was very similar to Hitty’s Daguerretotype Dress.
When I started this project around Thanksgiving, I did not expect it to take so long to complete. Then, right around New Year’s Eve, I ended up getting the flu. I had to put off writing this article until I felt well again.
Now that they are finished, I think the twins are wonderful dolls. They have already lived up to their names, by bringing Comfort and Joy when I was feeling under the weather. I can’t wait for them to meet the rest of my doll family.
Front row: Comfort and Joy
