My Creations

I made everything myself!

Miguel:

Shirt: Butterick B6455C, red bridal satin

Skirt: Simplicity Costumes 5359 B, shortened to A length, added side pockets

Skirt and mask in copper and gold cotton twill

Waist cincher: Simplicity Costumes 5359B, faux leather, matching copper ribbon, gold 1T grommets

Wig from Amazon, ukelele was one we just had lying around

Tulio:

Skirt: New Look 6346A, added front pocket and side pockets

Skirt and mask from olive green cotton twill

Shirt: Burda 6456A with collar from Simplicity 3519B, from royal blue bridal satin

Vest: Simplicity Costumes 5359B, faux leather.

link to part 3

I had so much fun making this and can't wait to show Brandon and the team at our local con this fall. If you make your own send me pictures! I'll update this post with pictures when I get more (hopefully one with brandon!!). I also ended up tying the vials to strings and tied them to my belt, so it's easier to see what's inside.

My pictures can be used as long as you credit me.

@emmaofthe9fingers or @emmcreations on tumblr

@emmaofthe9fingers on reddit

@ emmbroderie on instagram

link to part 2

I was pretty focused so I didn't get pictures of each step. Follow the directions in the instructions and it'll work out. Basically you just sew the front edges together, with the right side of the top capelet against the wrong side of the bottom capelet. Then flip the top capelet to the outside and top stitch. Then baste the necklines together, attach the hood, right sides together, and cover the seam.

Put the cloak on and have someone help you trim the strips to hang at the floor. Finish the ends of the strips if desired. I left mine unfinished to give it a more worn look.

I also played with the hood a bit. In hindsight I would have rounded it out, since it points straight up due to the fabric I used. I just secured it with a stitch to hang back on itself a little when the hood is up, and tucked in the point a little bit.

Finish with a couple buttons, untangle the strips, and you're done!

The rest of the costume

You'll want to make sure the costume is free of metals other than the earring and vials, if you want to stay true to the books. There are a few metal snaps and things in mine but you can't see them so it doesn't count ;)

I bought this shirt in white on Amazon. If needed you can tailor it to fit you better but I didn't need to.

I bought this belt and pouch on Amazon as well. The pouch holds my phone and some money, and the belt is great for holding vials of metal. You could make your own if you want (I originally meant to) but I found these and decided to just buy them.

I got the earring and vials from Badali Jewelry. They also have a stud style earring, but I stretched my ears so I could wear the gauge style one.

I got a short black wig for her hair, and wore some black capri jeggings and black slip on shoes for when shoes were necessary.

link to part one

On the right side of your top capelet, lay out the end of the strips you just sewed to the circumference, one next to each other, right side down. I found it easier to pin and sew just a few at a time, rather than pinning all of them. The strips should be pointed in towards the neck hole. Sew the strips on.

Also cut out strips out of the rest of your lining, but with no seam allowance (so 1.5 inches for me). If the edges fray you can hem them (so include an allowance if hemming) or if it’s nylon like mine you can set the edges by quickly passing them over a candle flame. Iron flat.

I originally decided to do one layer on the top capelet and two on the bottom, if I overlap them, placing a strip every inch, that puts me at about 96 strips on top (not including the thicker strips) and 240 for the bottom. I ended up actually only doing one layer on the bottom (120 strips). I cut out however many I needed but did end up with a few extras.

Repeat the same capelet and strip assembly with the lining, but with the inner strips, overlapping. The ripstop lining fabric was slippery, so instead of pinning I secured strips with a sewable seam tape before sewing them on, 10 at a time.

Then, pin the capelet lining on top of the top layer face down, pulling all the strips toward the middle, then sew around the circumference edge, sewing the lining and the outer layer together, leaving the neck and sides of the capelet open. Turn right side out. Iron flat or topstitch. I did half at a time.

You could probably actually stop here if you wanted to, and skip the bottom capelet and next layers of strips. If you only make one capelet, sew the flat front edges right sides together also, when you're sewing the capelet and lining together.

Do the same to the bottom capelet, but with just lining strips. I ended up doing only one layer since the top layer was so full already. I forgot to get a picture of the second capelet on its own but it's pretty much like the first one without the heavy strips.

Now you can continue to sew the pattern as directed. Sew the capelets together and line and sew the hood on. Use bias tape or some extra fabric to hide the seam between capelets and hood.

Inspiration

I want to cosplay a specific Mistborn in the books named Vin. We'll go over the rest of her costume later. The two images I'm using as inspiration are below:

Brandon has mentioned he imagines the strips being individually sewn with a softer inside and heavier inside, which I did for the top layer of strips. As far as length, he said within an inch or two of each other. So when trimming my strips I wasn't particular about them being exact. He also mentioned he imagines the strips being ½-1 inch wide, but I went with 1.5 inches just to save some sanity. Remember you can play with this and do whatever you want!

What you'll need:

-6.5 yards of a dark grey or black fabric like cotton, denim, or a lightweight wool. I got this black sweater/wool fabric at my local fabric store.

-15 yards of a dark grey or black lining, like silk, satin, or nylon ripstop. I got this ripstop online at Fabric Wholesale Direct.

-Two buttons

-Black or grey all purpose thread

-A sewing machine

-Simplicity 5794 cloak pattern (we're using pattern A)

-Fabric scissors

-A rotary cutter and mat

-A sewable seam adhesive (I used HeatnBond Lite)

-Lots of time and patience!! The strips alone probably took me a good 30-35 hours. I listened to WOK and some of WOR while making this.

I should also note that I was very generous with the fabric, partly because I didn't know what was necessary for the project. I cut my strips along the width and my fabric was 60" wide, so I had 60" strips. I ended up trimming them to probably 40-48 inches. If you have wide fabric you could cut lengthwise to save fabric, or find fabric that's already 48" wide instead of 60".

Making the cloak

Drawing from the inspiration photos, I wanted to create a cloak where the strips were all attached to a capelet. The black and white image has two capelets if you look closely, with strips attached to both, which is what I decided to go for using Simplicity pattern 5794 A.

I want to have one layer of the heavier fabric strips on the top capelet, with a layer or two of lining strips underneath, and another layer on the bottom capelet.

Quick disclaimer- the lighting in my basement craft room isn't great, sorry! I also forget to take pictures at every step.

Start by cutting out just the capelets and hood pieces for pattern A out in your heavier fabric. If your fabric has a pattern or grain like mine, make sure they line up. I’m cutting mine in size XS but in hindsight would have used size S. I'm 5'9" for reference.

Cut out the same pieces in your lining.

Follow the directions to sew the pieces together. You should have three separate pieces (upper capelet, lower capelet, hood). Do the same for the lining. Don't sew any of the capelets or hood to each other yet. If your fabric doesn't like to iron flat at the seams like mine, you can do a top stitch.

Then, measure the circumference or outer edge of the top capelet (minus a seam allowance for sewing them together) and divide by the width you want your strips to be. I measured with a string, then measured how long the string was. I went with 1.5 inches for my strip width. The resulting number is how many strips of your heavier fabric will be on the top layer (64.5 for me. I made 65 but ended up only fitting 63.) Cut out strips of your heavier fabric to that width including a seam allowance (so 2.25 inches for me), and 50-60 inches long. We'll trim them later. Cut out the same strips out of your lining.

I folded my fabric in half lengthwise and used this video to help me with cutting the strips. He explains it better than I could here.

Then right sides together, sew your heavier fabric strips to your lining strips. Leave both short ends open. Turn your strips right side out with a chopstick or knitting needle. Iron flat if needed. If your fabric is heavier and won't lay flat, sew around the edges in a top stitch.

Inspiration from @ a.preece on TikTok!