Articulation is a term that refers to the number of joints a doll or action figure has. In today’s Tape Measure Tuesday feature, I want to share with you the comparison between an articulated Ken doll and a regular Ken doll.
Here on my website, I’ve grouped clothing patterns for both of these dolls together, and as you’ll see in their measurements, they’re not far off. However for sewing purposes, it should be noted that there are some slight differences.
In the image below, you’ll see that these two dolls (a Texas A and M articulated Ken doll and a regular Ken doll built like the non-articulated Ryan dolls of the early 2000’s) are almost exactly the same height:
But let me point out that their shoulders aren’t located at the exact same height on both dolls. Take a look at the arrows in this picture:
Therefore, I decided it would be a good idea to post the two dolls’ exact measurements. That way you will have any extra information you’ll need for sewing doll clothes to fit your Ken dolls.
For example, if you’re sewing for a granddaughter who lives far away, and you’re using an articulated Ken for your sewing mannequin but she has a regular Ken in her collection, you’ll need to get that waist measurement to make sure the pants fit snugly on her doll when you’re finished.
So here are the tape measurement differences between the two:
Articulated Ken Doll Measurements
- Neck circumference… 6.1 cm
- Neck to shoulder seam… 3 cm
- Collar to true waist… 6.8 cm
- Underarm to true waist… 3.8 cm
- Sleeve inseam (underarm to cuff)… 8.1 cm
- Sleeve from shoulder seam to cuff… 9.9 cm
- Sleeve circumference (upper arm bicep)… 5.6 cm
- Waist… 11.1 cm
- Hip circumference… 13.9 cm
- Pants inseam (crotch to just below the ankle bone)… 15.1 cm
- Pants outseam (waist to just below the ankle bone)… 18.8 cm
- Pants leg circumference (upper thigh)… 8.2 cm
- Height not including hair… 12 and 1/4 inches or 31.12 cm
Regular Ken Doll Measurements
- Neck circumference… 6.5 cm
- Neck to shoulder seam… 2.8 cm
- Collar to true waist… 6 cm
- Underarm to true waist… 3.9 cm
- Sleeve inseam (underarm to cuff)… 9.2 cm
- Sleeve from shoulder seam to cuff… 9.9 cm
- Sleeve circumference (upper arm bicep)… 5.9 cm
- Waist… 10.8 cm
- Hip circumference… 13.8 cm
- Pants inseam (crotch to just below the ankle bone)… 14 cm
- Pants outseam (waist to just below the ankle bone)… 18.9 cm
- Pants leg circumference (upper thigh)… 8.1 cim
- Height not including hair… 12 and 1/4 inches or 31.12 cm
Of course it should also be noted that there are other types of Ken dolls, in addition to these two, and the Made to Move versions of articulated Ken dolls may not match my Texas A and M Ken exactly either. But even with that in mind, hopefully some of you will find these measurements helpful.
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To honor the trademark rights of the doll companies mentioned in this blog post, I am including links to their websites here. Please feel free to visit their website and consider purchasing one or more of the dolls mentioned.
Articulate Ken and regular Ken dolls are products offered by Mattel, which holds the registered trademark for them (™). Please visit the Mattel Toys website to learn more about their company and its trademarked toys.
Hm, this is interesting! That slight differences explains why I thought you had revised Ken’s Tux pattern when you posted the black articulated Ken in the blue dinner jacket on February 15th.
You can see from the photos of Ken in the black jacket, that although they have the same sleeve measurement, the sleeve covers part of regular Ken’s hand in the photo of the black jacket.
That doesn’t happen in the articulated Ken’s pictures. It’s the shoulders’ difference, not the arm’s lenght.
Additionally it appears that the jacket is slightly wider on the regular Ken than on the articulated Ken. This is because the pattern was made based on articulated Ken’s measurements. With the shoulders lower and 4 millimeters smaller in total, the jacket is overall a little big on the jointless Ken, as if he had borrowed the jacket from a slightly taller, more muscular brother.
But if the patterns were designed the opposite way, “taller” articulated Ken would not borrow regular’s Ken jacket. Maybe we could use a wider seam allowance when sewing to regular “five articulations” Ken.
I like how you said, “as if he had borrowed the jacket from a slightly taller, more muscular brother.” That’s a clever way to look at it.
Your comments here, and your thoughtful idea about using a wider seam allowance could also be helpful to people who read through to the bottom of the page about the jacket. If you don’t mind, Deborah, I’m going to paste your comment into that blog post as well.
Sure you can pin on the other post! Thanks for answering! And I thought of that, cause I am the taller sister (but I’m also teeny bit slimmer) , and my sister and I can swap most clothes.