Making of a mistcloak!!!!

[EHyde]

I've made a number of mistcloaks (some are posted in the gallery here, so you may have seen them) and I think Inkthinker and I have pretty similar designs. My own isn't hooded, but some that I've made for others are (one couple wanted Assassin's Creed-style hoods on their mistcloaks, that was kind of fun). I think I might like the look of the hooded ones better, though they do seem a bit impractical, limiting peripheral vision and all that. The way I have cut the strips of fabrics limits me to synthetics (I melt the edges to keep them from fraying) but I usually put a mixture of weights of fabric, from a chiffons to suiting fabrics, so that not all the streamers move the same way (some stay in the air and flutter longer than others).

If you cut fabric on the bias (diagonal), it will fray a bit but it won't actually unravel, so that is an option too. And it seems from fanart like a lot of people envision mistcloaks as a bit frayed-looking (though personally I like to think that since they're a noble's garment, they would look nice and well-made).

[Arcanist Lupus]

If you cut fabric on the bias (diagonal), it will fray a bit but it won't actually unravel, so that is an option too. And it seems from fanart like a lot of people envision mistcloaks as a bit frayed-looking (though personally I like to think that since they're a noble's garment, they would look nice and well-made).

I've got to figure that even the best made mistcloaks will fray a bit after a year or two of leaping around the city at night. And you can't exactly pick one up on your weekly shopping trip if you're trying to keep your abilities a secret.

I'm sure that the really wealthy nobles could afford to keep their mistcloaks well groomed, but there were probably lesser nobles who had reasonably frayed ones.

[EHyde]

I've got to figure that even the best made mistcloaks will fray a bit after a year or two of leaping around the city at night. And you can't exactly pick one up on your weekly shopping trip if you're trying to keep your abilities a secret.

I'm sure that the really wealthy nobles could afford to keep their mistcloaks well groomed, but there were probably lesser nobles who had reasonably frayed ones.

Probably true, I just mean I've seen some fanart where they look like they're in tatters, which isn't how I personally envision them.

I like to think that in-universe, mistcloaks are made of a very narrow-woven fabric, rather than out of wider fabric cut into strips, so that finishing the edges/fraying is just less of an issue, but that's just my personal headcanon (and it may even be contradicted by the text, I don't remember for sure).

[Eric]

One could reasonably just hem the edges. Sure, it's a lot of work, but in-universe, it's probably some skaa doing it, so who cares?

Edited September 7, 2012 by Eric

[LAProbert]

Hey there guys.

I'm really new to making clothes.....
So I could really do with all the help I could get.
I quite happy to get out the sewing machine and try things.
But I need to have a pattern to follow. If someone could supply something like that, or even just instructions. 
Anything I get round to. I'll post pics.
I have some ideas for pants as well that could follow the mistcloak idea as well.

[Claincy]

I get the feeling that the way I imagine mistcloaks is a bit different to what most people do.

I read the mistborn books a long time before I got into the rest of Brandon Sandersons books and the copy I had of the final empire was the one with this cover http://www.walmart.com/ip/Mistborn-The-Final-Empire/5681389

(sorry, not sure how to embed images).

 

That combined with the line in FE:

it was made up of hundreds of long, ribbonlike strips. They were sewn together at the shoulders and across the chest, but mostly they hung separate from one another, like overlapping streamers.

Gave me a rather different viewpoint on mistcloaks to most people.

 

In my imagination mistcloaks tend to be a bit later than normal, but more importantly are composed entirely of the strips of cloth, without any sort of mantle except as composed of those strips. I also tend to envision them as having more and thinner strips than most are depicted or made with. If I do get around to making one (hopefully someday ) it'll probably be more like that. I can always just say its from an obscure part of the final empire

[Amrynn]

I'm actually taking a break from making one as I write this, but I'm using black fabric (there was more selection) and I used 3 different fabrics of varying weights so that they sort of billow out in the wind. I'm not too worried about fraying, though I may do something for it later, but I agree with Arcanist Lupus that it will fray over time. I'm also cutting the fabric up to the upper arm instead of sewing strips together because it just seems more practical that way. If you have any more questions, I may be able to help, but this is literally the first article of clothing I've made ever, so I'm amateur as well.

[MrsCostello]

Here, you guys might like this. It's every useful quote in the first three books describing a mistcloak, excluding repetitious references. 

 

I was originally going to post this with commentary on my interpretation of each quote, but then my internet page shut down and I lost like two hours worth of work. So you guys will just have to interpret for yourselves. 

 

[Note: All my pages numbers are Kindle locations from the "Mistborn Trilogy" Kindle edition which has all three books in one eBook. There are about 10,000 locations per book, to give you an idea of approximately where each quote is if you want to try to find them in a hard copy.]

 

"[Kelsier] pulled open the pack, then whipped out a dark grey cloak. Large and enveloping, the cloak wasn't constructed from a single piece of cloth--rather, it was made up of hundreds of long, ribbonlike strips. They were sewn together at the shoulders and across the chest, but mostly they hung separate from one another, like overlapping streamers. Kelsier threw on the garment, its strips of cloth twisting and curling, almost like the mists themselves.

 

"[...] Dockson said, 'They all wear the things--it's kind of like a... sign of membership in their club.

 

"'It's colored and constructed to hide you in the mist,' Kelsier said. [...] He spun, letting the cloak flare dramatically." (MB: Loc 1472)

 

"Kelsier turned from the bodies, cloak rustling." (MB: Loc 1591)

 

"[Kelsier] hung in the mists for a moment, ribbons from his cloak curling and flapping in the wind..." (MB: Loc 1673)

 

"[Kelsier] returned a moment later carrying [...] a small cloth bundle. [...]

 

"The cloth was slick and soft in Vin's fingers, and she quickly realized what it was. She let the grey material unroll in her fingers, revealing a Mistborn cloak. Like the garment Kelsier had worn the night before, it was tailored completely from separate, ribbonlike strips of cloth.

 

"[...] She paused, then threw the cloak over her shoulders and tied it on. It felt...different. Thick and heavy on her shoulders, but light and unconstraining around her arms and legs. The ribbons were sewn together at the top, allowing her to pull it tight by the mantle if she wished. She felt...enveloped. Protected." (MB: Loc 2192)

 

"Remember, nearly all Mistborn are members of the Great Houses--and the rest are from lesser Luthadel houses." (MB: Loc 2222)

 

"Vin rode on the seat directly across form him--her legs tucked up underneath her, her enveloping mistcloak pulled close, hiding her arms and legs. [...] When she noticed his attention, she glanced away, huddling down a little more within her cloak." (MB: Loc 2552)

 

"[Kelsier swept] into the room, throwing back his mistcloak." (MB: Loc 7865)

 

"[shan] wore a black outfit of trousers and shirt, her dark hair pulled back, her mistcloak worn almost stylishly." (MB: Loc 8188)

 

"Shan landed dexterously--mistcloak tassels billowing" (MB: Loc 8226)

 

"She turned to [Kelsier], a tall, proud figure in a majestic mistcloak." (MB: Loc 8655)

 

"Standing as [Kelsier] was, she was suddenly aware of his clothing--dark gray mistcloak, long-sleeved black shirt, charcoal trousers. In the night, the clothing was simply camouflage. In the lit room, however, the black colors made him look menacing." (MB: Loc 8747)

 

"A man stook above him in the night. He was dressed in a large cloak that appeared to have been shredded to strips. [...] The ribbons of his enveloping black cloak billowed around him." (MB: Loc 8790) (Alt: Spook's non-mistcloak "survivor of the flames" cloak is singed and torn.)

 

"And there, at the bottom, lay her mistcloak. She closed her eyes and reached into the side cloak pocket." (MB: Loc 9879)

 

"The Inquisitor grunted, her kick tossing him into the air and ripping his grip free of her shoulders. Her Mistcloak came off in his hands..." (MB: Loc 9990)

 

"[Vin] wore the cloak's hood down, as usual..." (WoA: Loc 10876)

 

"Vin [...opened] her eyes, whipping her mistcloak behind her with a throw of the arm." (WoA: Loc 11655)

 

"'No,' Vin said absently, reaching up to tug [Elend's] cape. It came free easily, and she nodded approvingly. Mistcloaks were the same; Elend wouldn't have to worry about someone grabbing his cape in a fight." (WoA: Loc 13358)

 

"She passed into the tunnel-like corridors of the palace, feet and mistcloak tassels trailing marks in the dust." (WoA: Loc 19442)

 

"[Vin] wore no mistcloak. It felt odd to be leaping about in the mists without one of the garments, but in truth, she as quieter this way." (HoA: Loc 26199)

 

"She landed on the street, then stood upright, her tasseled mistcloak falling around her, hiding her arms and chest." (HoA: Loc 32856)

 

"Mistcloak: A garment worn by many Mistborn as a mark of their station. It is constructed from dozens of thick ribbons of cloth that are sewn together at the top, but allowed to spread free from the shoulder's down." (Ars Arcanum)

[StormyQueen]

Hey everybody!

I'm making a mistcloak, and I was wondering if anybody had had trouble with the ribbons tangling. I've talked with some sewing people that I know, and they were suggesting to double the fabric over to prevent this. Do you think that it would be worth it, because I'm still unsure about it

[CarrotInquisitor]

I always rolled with the idea that a cape stays behind the shoulders, a cloak comes all the way 'round to the front.

It's been my opinion that it goes in a sort of progression, cape, cloak, robe.

Capes stay behind the shoulders, like you said, cloaks go all the way around the front, and robes add sleeves. Any of the three can have a hood without changing the definition, but it's just a matter of preference.

[IndigoAjah]

Ok, we all know that Halloween is coming up quick and my dream is to be Vin. Of course a must have to my costume will be my mist cloak. I'm not at all experienced with a sewing machine so I'm having my older sister help me. Unfortunately, she is more of a dystopian style reader so she hasn't read Mistborn. I've shown her pictures of others mistcloaks, but I want mine to be original. I don't want to copy someone else's exact design and have a replica of anothers creation. I've seen a few cloaks that they have simply used ribbons for the strips of cloth. I was thinking of using silk since it will have lots of free movement, but I fear it will fray. Help?

Just as a side point, the setting of Mistborn, though unlike true Dystopian fiction it gets better (after getting worse) is pretty Dystopian!