Timewaster's Guide Archive
Local Authors => Brandon Sanderson => Topic started by: ehyde on March 15, 2010, 09:23:27 PM
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Hello, I'm new here!
I'm working on making a mistcloak for a con I'm going to next week, and basically I just wanted to share that with people who would actually know what I was talking about, rather than just nodding and smiling. I'm also interested in seeing mistcloaks that other people have made -- I've looked around this forum and it looks like several people have done this project, but I've only found pictures of two (which looked great, btw).
My department at school has a special type of sewing machine which will cut and fuse the edges of synthetic fabrics, so that's how I'm doing the fabric strips. Right now I've got just over 200 strips of fabric in various shades of grey, I'm not sure if they'll all make it into the finished piece or not. Some of them lean a little towards the purple side of grey, but I think that all together they will make a nice effect. For the yoke, I'm going to use the top bit of this pattern: http://www.lanetzliving.net/inc/sdetail/96482, cut off just below the shoulders.
I'll post some pictures as I start to actually put stuff together. Again, I would love to see more pictures of mistcloaks that anyone else has made!
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Nessa, one of our moderators, did a pretty good one a while back. The topic is on here somewheres, but im too lazy to find it. Others have also posted stuff.
To me, it seems like its mostly sewing long tassles/strips together, or maybe ripping up some fabric that's all ready together, but either way, doesn't seem to terribly difficult.
All in all, good luck!.
edit: ok, i lied, i'm not that lazy.
http://www.timewastersguide.com/forum/index.php?topic=7060.0
FirstRainbowRose's post is pretty comprehensive on some stuff.
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My department at school has a special type of sewing machine which will cut and fuse the edges of synthetic fabrics, so that's how I'm doing the fabric strips.
:jealousface
There were a few mistborn in photos of a convention late last year, but I can't remember which. I think Brandon blogged/tweeted it.
Please give us progress reports and pictures!
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I'd love to see your pictures when you're finished. I made one a loooong time back (http://www.timewastersguide.com/forum/index.php?topic=4487.msg106953#msg106953). If I were to make it now I would probably make it differently. I've already begun collecting fabric for it, but am still trying to find the perfect fabric and pattern.
Here's another forum member who made one. (http://www.timewastersguide.com/forum/index.php?topic=7060.msg155883#msg155883)
The Offical Fan Art Thread (http://www.timewastersguide.com/forum/index.php?topic=5585.0) is a great resource for pictures to help figure out the best way to construct it.
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I made one a loooong time back (http://www.timewastersguide.com/forum/index.php?topic=4487.msg106953#msg106953).
Yours was one of the ones I had managed to find :-)
Okay, I've got a couple of pictures --
(http://img21.imageshack.us/img21/4127/yokefabric.jpg)
This is the fabric I'm using for the yoke. I think it's technically a floral pattern but mostly it just looks swirly (to me, anyway). I've had a small piece of this for a couple of years now and had nothing to use it for because it was so small -- it's just barely big enough for the yoke.
(http://img534.imageshack.us/img534/3701/staticorganza.jpg)
This is something I thought was pretty neat -- some of the fabric I'm using for the streamers is organza, and at first I thought that it wasn't going to work out so well, because synthetic organza seems to really like static electricity, but once I had it cut into small strips, they started behaving like in the picture, where instead of hanging straight down they go all floaty. I don't know if it'll keep that effect once it's sewn together with the other fabrics, but I think it'd be cool if it did.
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Some of the top organza in mine float away from the body, though the roughness of the edges (which you won't have to deal with) prevented most of that action. Overall, organza worked out much better than I expected at first, even though I did have troubles with fraying and tangling.
I found that black organza is plenty light, even with several layers. When I make my next mistcloak, I won't bother with any colors other than black, as it doesn't look black in any light. Also, the shininess of the organza is either good or bad, depending on whether or not you want the cloak to look like fog or mist. You probably read this in the other thread, but...
How did you cut the organza straight? I had endless trouble with a rotary cutter as well as scissors, though I didn't attempt any sort of ironing beforehand. Oh, and what is the machine called that you cut/sealed the edges with? I'd like to see if I can't find someone who has one around here, as that sounds a lot less expensive than buying loads of ribbon.
What is the yoke material? How is it finished? Are there any other layers to it? I can't wait to see pictures of it put together!
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This is something I thought was pretty neat -- some of the fabric I'm using for the streamers is organza, and at first I thought that it wasn't going to work out so well, because synthetic organza seems to really like static electricity, but once I had it cut into small strips, they started behaving like in the picture, where instead of hanging straight down they go all floaty. I don't know if it'll keep that effect once it's sewn together with the other fabrics, but I think it'd be cool if it did.
I find that very interesting, the way the fabric behaves. So you say you're mixing it with other fabrics in the finished product? I'm curious to see if it does, and how the overall effect is. I used a silky poly-blend in part of mine and when I basted the edges it made it curl a little, which I thought was a nice effect, but it didn't float quite like that organza does.
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sortitus -- http://www.sonobondultrasonic.com/welders-bonders-nonwovens.asp?sID=laceMaster This is the machine we have in the lab at school. I'm not sure how likely you are to find one locally -- I think it's mostly an industrial-type thing, and I'm not even sure why we have it, except that one of the professors really likes it. To cut the organza straight, I just taped a ruler to the table next to the machine and made sure the fabric lined up when I was running it through. It's not perfect, but from a distance it looks fine.
The yoke is silk, but I have no idea where to get it because I didn't buy it myself. The picture I posted before was before I even ironed it, here's a picture of the finished yoke:
(http://img32.imageshack.us/img32/2301/yoke.jpg)
It's fused to a woven interfacing, lined, and topstitched around the edges. I originally planned to insert the streamers between the face and the lining fabrics, but then figured if I did that I would have a very hard time getting a neat edge on the bottom of the yoke. Instead I'm going to attach the streamers to the inside of the finished yoke -- it may look messier on the inside, but I think it will look nicer on the outside.
The organza is the lightest fabric I'm using. I have some for the under layer with more drape to them, and the floaty ones are going on top. In terms of color, I'm not going for a really dark look in the streamers -- it'll probably end up looking something like the colors in this picture: http://rosemuse.deviantart.com/art/Mistborn-88016638.
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Wow, this is going to look pretty much amazing.
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Excellent choice on the pattern for the yoke. The fabric complements it nicely as well. The idea of attaching the streamers to the inside seems good. At first I was thinking that you would want to attach some extra heavy-weight fabric to the bottom of the yoke for weight, but then I realized that the streamers will do that job. It looks like you put plenty of time into design, or at least have enough experience to be able to improvise better than I can plan. ;D
I see now that the machine is indeed unlikely to be in my area. :P I'll probably look around anyway.
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I see now that the machine is indeed unlikely to be in my area. :P I'll probably look around anyway.
You don't happen to live anywhere near Ithaca, NY do you?
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You don't happen to live anywhere near Ithaca, NY do you?
Uhh... unfortunately not. But one of the places I may be moving this summer is Baltimore!
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I'm really interested in seeing how this turns out.
This looks like it follows the text description to me well enough. If I can make a suggestion for future cuts, I'd like to see the yoke fall past the shoulder a bit further, to mid-arm or below the bust. There's definitely room for variations in mistcloak design.
Collars are open to interpretation, I don't recall any detail in the text, but I'd sure like to see someone try a hood that blends into the yoke.
I love that pattern on the silk, it definitely evokes a sense of the swirly.
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I think the main difference between the description in the book and mine will be that I'm not making a hood. That's just personal preference, not for any particularly thought-out reason. Also, in the book it said that it would easily come off if tugged on, and I couldn't think of any closure that would allow for that aside from velcro or snaps -- and while snaps might not be anachronistic, non-metal snaps would be. Perhaps I'm just missing something.
(http://img696.imageshack.us/img696/70/streamers.jpg)
Here are my streamers (the black in the upper left is a pillow, not more fabric). I'm hoping to get this all put together tonight -- I'll post more pics as it comes along.
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Slip-tie knots on wooden beads, maybe? I've always gone with the idea that they use something like a Chinese loop over wooden buttons, and I'm sure there's some knot or another that would work as described.
I can never remember if the text specifically includes hoods or not. I think it's possible that both are in there somewhere, and there's nothing that says there's only way to cut a mistcloak... Mistborn from different cities or noble houses might very well have variant designs from that which Vin and Kelsier wore.
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I can never remember if the text specifically includes hoods or not. I think it's possible that both are in there somewhere, and there's nothing that says there's only way to cut a mistcloak... Mistborn from different cities or noble houses might very well have variant designs from that which Vin and Kelsier wore.
Correct me if i'm wrong, but wouldn't the absence of a hood technically make it a mistCAPE? I always thought the difference in a cloak and a cape was the hood, but I could be wrong (i'm certainly no expert), and it could be something like length or style or some other factor i'm not even aware of.
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For a knot that can slip out, but is still somewhat secure, I used knotted (overhand) shoelaces (http://www.timewastersguide.com/forum/index.php?topic=7060.msg156002#msg156002). If you tie it with an overhand knot, but add another turn, it's secure enough to take almost anything without slipping. You do have to give it a bit of encouragement for it to slip free, but with something rougher in the same general configuration, you could probably use a standard overhand knot. A braided cord might work, but the knobbiness and twistiness of the repeated overhands seemed to work pretty well.
The motion to remove my cloak was a light pull at the location where the shoelaces attach to the cloak, or a pull with more force anywhere else on the cloak.
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I've already attached a frog (Chinese knot-loop closure) to the yoke, but for future reference, that type of knot sounds like a good idea.
I think it probably would be a cape, technically. I've seen things with hoods called capes but I don't think I've really seen things without hoods called cloaks. I think a cape is okay though, as Vin is obviously a superhero ;)
I did not meet my goal of finishing last night ... maybe today? *crosses fingers* Also, the organza does not behave awesomely anymore, it just curls up and sticks to itself and to the rest of the streamers so as to make me look like a giant grey muppet, so I'm taking it back off and just using the drapey fabrics.
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I think it probably would be a cape, technically. I've seen things with hoods called capes but I don't think I've really seen things without hoods called cloaks. I think a cape is okay though, as Vin is obviously a superhero ;)
Yeah, that's what i was thinking, but like i said, i could be wrong.
However, anyone who tries to poo-poo your creation for such a nit-picky semantic deserves to be ignored ;)
Either way, i really think it's going to look great. The bit you have that goes around the neck from your photo earlier looks pretty awesome, just needs the right sort of streamers/tassles attached to it, and the fabrics you have for it look pretty good.
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So, I've had this finished for about a week now but haven't managed to post pictures until now.
(http://images.cosplay.com/photos/24/2490009.jpg)
(http://images.cosplay.com/photos/24/2490017.jpg)
(I got a few pictures of a friend wearing it as well)
There are more pictures here: http://www.cosplay.com/costume/291150/
I put lace on the border between the yoke and the streamers; my main logic for this was that mistcloaks are meant to be something worn by noblemen and we've seen enough to know that noblemen definitely like looking fancy and I don't think their tastes would change completely when it came to mistcloaks.
My photos suffered from overly pleasant weather. Where's Mount St. Helens when you need it? (er, Washington, I suppose)
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Not bad, I dig it!
If I was to suggest anything (other than what I suggested before, a longer yoke and a hood, perhaps) it would be more of the streamers/tassels. Like, 2-3 times as many, if that's feasible.
That's a lot of work, though, and I like what I see here already.
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The second picture is pretty much amazing.