Who is Eleanor? She is a 10” tall wooden tuck comb doll that I carved about a year ago. Tuck comb dolls were sold by the thousands in the early nineteenth century in Europe. Most were produced by woodworkers in the Grodnertal region of Germany, where pine trees were plentiful. The wooden dolls had long, graceful limbs and peg jointed bodies. On their heads, many of them had simple golden combs. The short, curly hairstyle was popular during the Regency period in England from 1811-1820. Below is my “inspiration” photo of an antique tuck comb doll from Live Auctioneers.
Eleanor’s blank was made by Janet Cordell. In November of 2024, Janet taught a combination Hitty and Tuck Comb carving class at Woodcarving Academy. I was fortunate to be a member of the class, because I simply adore Tuck Comb dolls. Janet used hand carving techniques with knives and gouges, but I used a combination of hand and power carving for my doll, because that is what I prefer (see “Carving Hitty”).
Eleanor is jointed at the shoulders and hips. The legs and arms have a ball joint that can rotate.
When I was carving her face, Eleanor kept telling me, “Make my nose smaller.” I could already tell that I had a real diva on my hands. I kept working until Eleanor had a petite little curved nose.
After I finished carving her, it was time for the sealer. I almost always seal my wooden dolls with Watco Danish Oil Natural to enhance the grain. It was easy to do: I just poured some onto a rag and wiped it on all the parts, then I wiped off the excess. I hung the pieces up to dry, which took a few days.
The Danish Oil left a yellowish tint, but I wanted Eleanor to have a blush pink skin-tone. I decided to try something new. In the past I have always used acrylic paints on my wooden dolls, but with acrylics it’s difficult to get a nice, even wash of paint.
I bought a set of inexpensive artist’s oil paints from a craft store and mixed up a pink-colored wash from Titanium White, Yellow Medium and Scarlet, diluted with mineral spirits. I brushed this wash all over the doll’s body. Then I allowed the doll to dry for one week. The wash gave her a nice, rosy glow, which was exactly the effect that I wanted.
I also used oil paints to paint her face and hair. Only the golden comb was done with acrylics, because I wanted a metallic shine. For her eyes I used a mixture of Ultramarine Blue and Titanium White.
Adding blush to the cheeks is one of the hardest things to get right on a doll. Too heavy of a color looks unattractive. I mixed Titanium White, Yellow Medium and Scarlet. Then I added mineral spirits and painted on a thin wash of color on her cheeks.
For the hair I used Burnt Umber with Black, plus mineral spirits added to thin her wispy bangs. Many tuck comb dolls have very stylized curls, but I wanted Eleanor’s bangs to look more realistc.
- Eleanor after Watco Danish Oil Sealer.
- Eleanor after painting with oil based paints.
I finished painting Eleanor in February. For extra protection I brushed Minwax Polycrylic over the entire doll. I used Clear Ultra Flat on most of the doll, but I covered the hair, eyes, lips and shoes with Satin for a little more shine. Here is how she looked back then.
She has white stockings and gold shoes with red trim.
I signed Eleanor on her back.
Even though Eleanor was finished, I didn’t dress her right away. That’s because I was very busy developing Flat Hitty at the time. I finally picked up Eleanor again a few weeks ago. I thought something was not quite right about her eyes.
I asked Eleanor what to do. She told me, “I want green eyes, and make them bigger!”
Well, of course I had to make her happy. I scraped the paint off her eyes and started over. Below are the steps I used to paint her eyes. Because these were oil paints, I had to let each stage dry for a few days before continuing.
- Original eyes.
- Paint scraped off.
- New eyes drawn on with pencil and sealed with Mr. Super Clear Matte spray.
- White for the corners of the eyes. Iris: Pthalo Blue mixed with Yellow Medium and a tiny bit of Burnt Umber. Highlight: a little white mixed into iris color for lower right portion of iris.
- Black for pupils and eyeliner.
- Tiny highlights of white.
After the oil paint was completely dry, I sealed the eyes with Minwax Polycrylic Satin. I think her new eyes really sparkle! Here she is from the front and back.
I made her a high-waisted white satin gown with an embroidered tulle overskirt. She also has a lacy golden shawl with beaded trim draped over her shoulders. The style is typical of Regency period gowns. Now she is all ready to make her debut at the Regency Ball!
Here are my other two Janet Cordell class dolls, Alice Skye and Hitty Maeve. They both put on their best satin dresses to attend Eleanor’s Ball.
I am so happy with Eleanor’s new look. Sometimes it pays to set a project aside for a while. I know that was certainly the case with Eleanor’s eyes. A year after the carving class, I finished Eleanor… just in time to get her picture with the colorful fall foliage. I think it was worth the wait!
