12-inch doll clothes patterns, A4 Printer PDF Patterns, Broad Ken, Daily Patterns, GI Joe, Ken Patterns

Here’s how to make a shirt with a collar, for GI Joe, Action Man, and other muscular dolls/action figures… #FreePatterns #GreatBritishSewingBee

 

Scroll down to the third set of bullets for the free PDF sewing patterns.

Today’s video tutorial took me a very long time to make! It has been in the wings (a work in progress) since December of 2025. As you’ll hear about in the video, I faced some challenges.

And this project is not for the beginners out there. (Sorry!) I’ve marked it with four flowers on the difficulty scale, so you really should already have some sewing experience under your belt before you try to tackle this shirt-with-a-collar project.

Before I go on, I need to make my required disclaimer statement: As an Amazon affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases. To learn more about how affiliate marketing works on my website, please go to the Privacy Policy page. Thank you!

Broad Ken in Navy Shirt Red Tie and Navy Pants or Trousers. A Broad Ken from Mattel wears dark reading glasses, a dark navy blue shirt with long sleeves and a collar, and a pair of long matching navy blue trousers or pants. His tie is red and decorated with feather-like miniature printed objects in white, blue, and grey. The tie is actually tied at his collar, slightly under the collar, like a real man might wear his tie, using the windsor knot at the top, near where the points of the collar meet. Free patterns at Chelly Wood dot com.
Please visit ChellyWood.com for free printable sewing patterns for making doll clothes to fit dolls of many shapes and all different sizes.

In the second set of bullets, where I tell you all the different dolls and action figures that can wear this shirt pattern, please notice that I’ve put an asterisk next to Broad Ken. That’s because the pattern includes a trousers/pants pattern, but these trousers/pants won’t fit Broad Ken.

Instead, you can go to this page to download a different pants/trousers pattern for him.

I should also mention the “muscular Ken” doll who is shown in the video. The “muscular Ken” from the 1970’s and early 80’s was manufactured to have a bent arm. I loved that back in the 1970’s, when I was a kid, because he could hold Barbie’s waist and hand for ballroom dancing!

So I thought it would be important to show a picture of him. That way everyone knows which Ken doll I mean… It’s this little fellow that will easily fit into today’s shirt pattern:

A muscular Ken doll from the 1970’s and early 1980’s models a dark navy blue shirt with long sleeves and a collar, and a pair of rust colored trousers. His tie is red and decorated with feather-like miniature printed objects in white, blue, and grey. The tie is actually tied at his collar, slightly under the collar, like a real man might wear his tie, using the Windsor knot at the top, near where the points of the collar meet. Free patterns at Chelly Wood dot com.
Please visit ChellyWood.com for free printable sewing patterns for making doll clothes to fit dolls of many shapes and all different sizes.

Other Ken dolls probably will swim in this shirt because I designed it for dolls and action figures like GI Joe and Action Man.

For my American Readers, boys growing up in the US enjoyed playing with GI Joe, while boys in the UK had a similar action figure named Action Man.

I found my Action Man at a yard sale in Twin Falls, and for the longest time, I didn’t know who he was. American readers made a few guesses, but it was my UK readers who helped me identify him. Thanks you guys!

An Action Man action figure models a dark navy blue shirt with long sleeves and a collar, and a pair of rust colored trousers. His tie is red and decorated with feather-like miniature printed objects in white, blue, and grey. The tie is actually tied at his collar, slightly under the collar, like a real man might wear his tie, using the Windsor knot at the top, near where the points of the collar meet. Free patterns at Chelly Wood dot com.
Please visit ChellyWood.com for free printable sewing patterns for making doll clothes to fit dolls of many shapes and all different sizes.

I’m sure you’re wondering whether or not I plan to do a tutorial that shows you how to make the tie. The answer is yes!

I recently learned how to make a tie myself. I was inspired by an episode of The Great British Sewing Bee on Roku, in which the sewing contestants had to make a man’s tie.

It made me curious about tie-making, and one day shortly after I’d watched that episode, I just happened to stumble across a man’s tie pattern at a second hand store. I bought the pattern, designed a rainbow trout fabric, ordered my own fabric on Spoonflower, and made my brother a fish-themed tie for his birthday!

A GI Joe action figure models a dark navy blue shirt with long sleeves and a collar, and a pair of rust colored trousers. His tie is red and decorated with feather-like miniature printed objects in white, blue, and grey. The tie is actually tied at his collar, slightly under the collar, like a real man might wear his tie, using the Windsor knot at the top, near where the points of the collar meet. Free patterns at Chelly Wood dot com.
Please visit ChellyWood.com for free printable sewing patterns for making doll clothes to fit dolls of many shapes and all different sizes.

I was pretty proud of that achievement, having never made a man’s tie before. And my brother really loved his tie, so that was the cherry on top of the ice cream sundae!

But I digress…

To make today’s doll or action figure’s shirt, you will likely need one or more of the following items:

This list comes from my “Buyer’s Guide” page, which is easily accessed from the home page.

If you’re looking for an earth-friendly alternative for your cotton fabric, I have a lot to offer in my Spoonflower store, including solid fabrics. Here’s the link.

Pictured around the edges of the thumbnail are (counter-clockwise from top left) Broad Ken, muscular 1970’s Ken, Action Man, and GI Joe. All are wearing a handmade navy blue shirt with a collar, and all sport the same red small-print tie around their necks and decorating the front of their shirts. Text reads: “How to make a shirt with collar for dolls or action figures… Free pattern including A4 version… Chelly Wood dot com.
Please visit ChellyWood.com for free printable sewing patterns for making doll clothes to fit dolls of many shapes and all different sizes.

*Today’s free printable PDF sewing patterns will fit the following dolls or action figures:

*Note: Broad Ken requires a different pair of trousers than the ones that appear on today’s free pattern. Click here for a trousers/pants pattern that fits Broad Ken.

Here are your free, printable PDF sewing patterns and tutorial videos for making the outfit shown at the top of this page:

You may also find these tutorial videos helpful:

For more of my free tutorials, be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel, ChellyWood1.

This image of a turquoise blue sewing needle pulling purple thread away from a line of cross-stitching is used as a divider between sections of a blog post.

Here are 3 ways you can help support my website and YouTube channel:

  1. Leave a comment on any blog post on my site (it helps other people find my website)
  2. Leave comments on my YouTube channel (it also helps with search engine optimization)
  3. Subscribe to my YouTube channel if you haven’t already

To read more about my free sewing patterns and tutorials, please visit the “Helpful Tips” page.

An Action Man action figure models a dark navy blue shirt with long sleeves and a collar, and a pair of rust colored trousers. His tie is red and decorated with feather-like miniature printed objects in white, blue, and grey. The tie is actually tied at his collar, slightly under the collar, like a real man might wear his tie, using the Windsor knot at the top, near where the points of the collar meet. Free patterns at Chelly Wood dot com.
Please visit ChellyWood.com for free printable sewing patterns for making doll clothes to fit dolls of many shapes and all different sizes.

Disclaimer/Credit/Affiliate Marketing Link:

*Please note: when you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include Amazon, Etsy, and the eBay Partner Network. As an Amazon affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases. To learn more about how my website uses affiliate marketing, please visit the website’s Privacy Policy page.

To honor the trademark rights of the doll and action figure 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.

GI Joe and Action Man action figures are owned and distributed by Hasbro Pulse, which holds the registered trademark for these toys (™). Please visit the Hasbro Toy website to learn more about their company and its trademarked toys. This link will also help you find Action Man figures specifically, and those figures are still distributed throughout the United Kingdom.

Broad Ken, the WWE wrestler action figures and the Endless Hair Princess Barbie 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.

Tonner fashion dolls are products that were once offered by the Tonner doll company, which held the registered trademark for them (™), but it is no longer in business. However you can still learn about this company’s history on Wikipedia and purchase used dolls from eBay.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.