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Messages - menandore

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16
Brandon Sanderson / Re: Making a mistcloak!
« on: August 26, 2009, 02:27:48 AM »
Ok, most recent progress is up at http://crazy-projects.blogspot.com/search/label/mistcloak. Preliminary results: sadly disappointing. :( I'm going to try narrower strips and see what happens.

17
Brandon Sanderson / Re: Making a mistcloak!
« on: August 24, 2009, 11:23:16 PM »
Oh, one thing I was wondering - sortitus, do you have pictures? If your cloak was actually doing cool tendril-y things, then I may be totally wrong about organza.  I'd be interested in seeing how yours came out.

-menandore, who is rediscovering her hatred for satin (even with a rotary cutter, you can't cut it even close to straight. I hate my life.)

18
Brandon Sanderson / Re: Making a mistcloak!
« on: August 24, 2009, 03:51:05 PM »
Hmm. That's a good reason for using synthetics, actually.  I hear that dyeing synthetics (other than rayon [which does an amazing silk imitation.  ftr, "bamboo" fiber and fabric are actually rayon, but the source material is bamboo, instead of trees.] and nylon, which dye like plant fibers, but unfortunately don't melt nicely) is a pain, though.   

This project is one of those that will probably take me a few months of off-and-on work - it's not for any particular purpose, so I can take the time to really get it right.  If this involves hand-finishing a couple hundred edges... sigh. I guess I'm doing it.  (A lot of times I'll find something to watch while I'm working on tedious stuff, though.  I've got a pile of anime on the queue.)

...just read the other mistcloak thread. *facepalm* I totally failed to remember that metal on mistborn clothes = bad.  It's still worth casting these, because it's still just that cool an idea, but maybe I'll try my hand at wood-carving again.  Hopefully this time with less stabbing myself (I have one of these: http://www.woodcarvers.com/Gloves.htm  but I continually forget to use it).  There's a nice woodworking store down the street from me; maybe they have something nice.  Ebony, maybe?  Although super hard woods may be beyond my current skill level.  I don't really have the tools, which is irritating. Maybe I'll go renew my hobby shop membership.

19
Brandon Sanderson / Re: Making a mistcloak!
« on: August 24, 2009, 06:42:51 AM »
Ooh, they're the people who make all the Elantris/Mistborn jewelry? Nice. 

Although if I get bored (term's starting in two weeks. ahahaha yeah right. undergrad thesis, database engineering class, as many SMFA classes as I can squeeze in, some random humanities course, a job, weekend LARPing, and entering a programming competition so that I can go to a UI design conference ...) and I feel more confident in my metalworking skills, I may try to make one myself.  ("try" being the operative word there...)

20
Brandon Sanderson / Re: Making a mistcloak!
« on: August 24, 2009, 06:37:45 AM »
Hmm. IMO, organza is too stiff to drape correctly for this, but I haven't worked with it much - it may behave very differently in larger quantities.  The 8mm silk I'm using for the outer layer is feather-light; if all goes according to plan, that will account for the "curling in the mist" bit, while the heavier inner weights give it a good drape and structure.  That way you also don't have to use eleventy billion layers to get a solid-feeling garment.  ...That's the theory, anyway.

Yeah... the edges catching on each other is something I'm trying to figure out how to avoid. That's why I'm still agonizing over how to finish the edges of the strips. :-/  I'm also terrified that strips narrower than ~2" will just get hopelessly tangled.

As for how many layers of streamers? No clue.  We'll see what it looks like when I start chopping it up and basting it together. (I promise I'll take pictures!)

Dark gray organza?  You can get all sorts of nice dyeable fabric from dharmatrading.com.  If you're at all interested in dyeing your own, I highly recommend getting their full swatch set.  It's plenty useful just as a reference for moments of "Hm. I want to make this thing. What do I want to make it out of? *gropes swatch set until I come across something that feels right*"  fabric.com is also useful - if you're looking for something very, very specific, they're hit-or-miss, but they have cheap swatches.  I get most of my fabric from the internet these days when I'm looking for something specific.

I think I'm going to try making this without a coif.  If I need to, I can baste it all onto a stabilizer layer and remove it later.  I have no idea what I'm going to do about the hood, though.  I suppose I could just quilt the leftovers together to make a solid "fabric" and make the hood from that. Or something.  I haven't sorted that out yet.  (I'm totally making this up as I go along. Wheeeee...)

21
Brandon Sanderson / Re: Making a mistcloak!
« on: August 24, 2009, 06:24:16 AM »
You have provided me with the Word of God on mistcloaks! Awesomesauce.  Saving that right now.

Although I think I will have to modify that somewhat to get it to flow right, which in my mind is the most important bit.  It does sound like starting with a heavier layer on the inside working toward a lighter layer on the outside would help give it the right sort of ... majestic? drape.  I'm not sure I can accomplish that in 1.5 layers, though, not with 1" strips of fabric. Hmmm.  (I love this kind of problem.) Well, that's why I got a yard of each weight to experiment with.  And silk is great for getting a luxurious rich drape without lots and lots of weight.  Actually, with silk I miiiight be able to get away with fewer layers. We will see.  Tomorrow I will find my rotary cutter and get to work on that.  

So... I'm confused about the difference between the "tassels" and the strips of fabric.   Are they the same?

Heh, now that people might actually be reading my blog, I have to get things done. (Woo motivation.)  

I should be honest and also post the series of failures I've experienced while trying to carve the !!$@!#$ cloak clasps, starting with my unexpected discovery that standard white copy paper burns in the oven and going from there.  (It's still cool enough to be worth sitting down and spending several hours carving little pieces of wax with teeny tiny tools.  I've been watching Mythbusters while working on it, and it's rather terrifyingly inspirational.  It's certainly motivated me to get off my behind and take advantage of my last term and cross-register for some metalworking classes, in any case.)  

I have to say, though, for any cloak but this one (I'm going to be far too attached to it to stab it with *anything*), some of the allomantic symbols would make wonderful cloak pins  - you know, this type. http://www.wulflund.com/images_items/hand-forged-fantsy-cloak-pin_2.jpg (image picked at random from the internets).  Incidentally, is there any significance to what look suspiciously like spikes in the allomancy symbols, or do they just look cool?

btw, firstRainbowRose: I suspect this is one of those projects that I will only ever want to do once.  Kind of like the wings on my blog. Those took me at least 50 hours (including convincing all my friends that helping me paint them was what they wanted to be doing during finals week... I brought a box of cookies and declared it a party. I still can't believe that worked.) and you have no idea how much you'd have to pay me to make those again.  Although with sufficient incentive... ;)


22
Brandon Sanderson / Making a mistcloak!
« on: August 24, 2009, 04:45:26 AM »
Hey all! First time poster, new fan (and I have managed to push Elantris and the Mistborn books on several of my friends already), etc., working on my second re-read on my commute to campus. :P
I <3 universes with well-thought-out magic systems, oh so much. Comes from my background as a LARPer, I guess. 

Anyway, I'm in the process of making a mistcloak (see http://crazy-projects.blogspot.com/search/label/mistcloak . I, uh, may or may not be going completely overboard.  At least I'm not taking the metalworking class because of this project... although don't put it past me.)  Because, see, some fans write fanfic, others do art... I make costumes.  And write LARPs (well... I try to.  We'll see if the Malazan game ever gets off the ground.  We're still working out mechanics.)  So from the minute I saw the description of a mistcloak, I absolutely had to make one, because I love the books and the costume concept is just that cool.

And I have one burning question.

Where do the tassels go?

For the life of me, I cannot figure out where they should be.  Wouldn't they be too heavy to attach to the strips of fabric?  Unless they were on the very bottom layer.

Ideas?  I'd also be thrilled if anyone has suggestions on edge finishes. I'm still stuck on that, too.

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