I discovered the patterns from Oki Style
via a picture of one of the patterns on a now forgotten blog. Oki is the nickname of the designer, originally from Mongolia, now living in Germany. Oki describes her designs as experimental and alternative. See Interview here.
She has an Etsy shop and a Web site. I
recommend the Web Site It is easily translated to English using the flag
icon on the home page. It has more patterns than the Etsy
shop and some of them are available in petite, regular and tall sizes. Only
standard sizes are offered on the Etsy shop.
The Web site's PDF patterns include 3 print options, including one for US 8.5x11" paper. Sizing is very similar to Burda
sizing, including the tall and petite sizes.
The patterns do not have seam allowances or hems. You must add
them. The sewing instructions for all the patterns are available on the web site on the Instructions tab. This means you can read the instructions before buying a pattern. The
instructions are good. Text is in English and German, and there are many
pictures.
Makes of Oki Style pattern are not easily found in sewing blog land, and there were none for the two I sewed. I was attracted to the styles because they are recognizable silhouettes with a bit of a twist. The first pattern I made was the Joker blouse. It is a raglan sleeved blouse with fit and
flare shape.
It has a concealed button front, and undulating hem line.
I thought the pattern draft was quite clever. The bust and waist shaping is created by large vertical darts. The back yoke extends into the sleeve and creates a raglan sleeve with a
diagonal seam. The pattern was well drafted. All seam lines matched perfectly.
 |
| Back Yoke extending into sleeve |
I made the
pattern as designed except for one difference, necessitated by my fabric width. Because
the back has many darts, it requires 54-60" wide fabric to be cut on the fold. The dart in the center back is sewn to the outside. My fabric was not wide enough to cut the back on the fold. And I didn't want a seam in the middle of the dart. So I added a
center back seam following the dart legs , and a triangular shaped insert to replace the dart itself. The center back seam is effectively hidden by the dart insert and draping at the hemline.
 |
| Original Back Pattern Piece |
 |
| Back pattern with center back seam and insert |
 |
Dart insert
|
My fabric was a fine grey and white cross woven shirting I bought at Hancock Fabrics several years ago. I made a size 42 tall. I hand basted the narrow hem around the bottom of the shirt before sewing it by machine. It took a long time, but I was at a sewing retreat and there was lots of lively conversation to distract from the tedium.
 |
| Oki Style Joker blouse front |
 |
| Oki Style Joker blouse side |
 |
| Oki Style Joker blouse back |
The 2nd pattern was the Oki Style Stanis jacket.
It is unlined
with cut on collar, darted front, faced edges and high side slits. The back has a yoke with flared lower back
panel. It has a two piece sleeve with the undersleeve cut from a knit fabric. I like the colors and scale of the check fabric
used on the original jacket, and the way it looked in the flared back panel.
Shopping from my stash I found a large scale, acrylic/wool plaid that was originally a
thrift shop pleated skirt. I was able to
do plaid matching fairly well given the limited amount of fabric I had. I did have to piece the fabric in the lower back yoke. The undersleeves are a heavier ponte type knit.
I interfaced the
jacket edges with fusible interfacing to prevent them from stretching during
construction and used a firm poly acetate lining fabric as the facings. The
instructions suggest you interface the facing.
 |
| Oki Style Stanis Jacket front |
 |
| Oki Style Stanis Jacket side |
 |
| Oki Style Stanis Jacket back |
I purchased several more of the patterns; a pair of pants,
two dresses and another blouse, which you will see in the future.
