Saturday, March 18, 2017

Oki Style - Joker blouse and Stanis Jacket


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 made  a size 42 tall with my standard  curved back and square/forward shoulder alterations. Again the pattern was well drafted and went together quickly.  
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.