Vin Venture: Mistborn Cosplay Process

Mistcloak

In the Mistborn book series by Brandon Sanderson, there are several passages that describe what mistcloaks look like.

He also provided some helpful ideas on the subject of making a mistcloak.

But in the discussions on the 17th Shard Fan site, I found some important insights to the challenges of making a garment like this:

  • Fashion isn’t easy: When wearing a cloak made of long ribbons, it’s impossible not to get tangled up. How do you walk with shreds wrapping around and entangling your feet?

  • From a practical standpoint, many people pointed out that wearing a mistcloak is a great way to lose a fight with a Steel Inquisitor.

  • Does the cloak actually have tassels like decorative pillows? Or do “tassels” simply refer to the long strips of fabric that comprise the cloak and whoosh around in the swirling mists in super dramatic ways?

  • How do you make a mistcloak and not end up looking like a Dementor from Harry Potter?

These are some of the challenges I set out to solve.

By the way all this is unofficial, okay! I cooked all this up myself as a crafty fan! Enjoy.

Glass Daggers

Mistborn prowl the night with their billowing Mistcloaks and bring along a trusty glass knife or two. Glass is inert to Allomancy in the Mistborn magic system. These prop daggers are a great addition to the Vin costume. I finished these several months after the main Vin Mistborn cosplay was done.

  • I came back to this project after a while because I failed. Several times. That is alright because I learned a lot while attempting to make Vin’s Mistborn Glass Daggers.

  • I used polymer clay and casting resin to make the imitation glass blades.

  • Rainbow obsidian, which is volcanic glass served as a source of inspiration when I started these fantasy imitation knives.

DIY: Mistborn Inspired Glass Daggers

Gear

Costumes can benefit from super cool gear and accessories. For Vin I incorporated:

  • A set of Allomantic vials containing a variety of metals and powders. Mini glass vials, embossing powders and epoxy resin craft bead supplies were useful when crafting these

  • Three larger vials with “metal mixes” inside. See more about how I made these.

  • I polished up shiny gold coins as well and had extra in a purse like every well-prepared coin shot

  • Vin’s earring from Badali Jewelry

  • Horseshoes

When approaching the details of the costume, I wanted to bring the lore of Mistborn and the Cosmere into Vin’s cosplay. To me, that meant incorporating the Steel Alphabet as design elements.

  • The Allomantic symbols are incorporated on the cowl of the cloak

  • And then featured on the leather belt as well

In depth: Making Mistborn Vials

embroidery

Sewing

I have been sewing since 2002. For this project I incorporated a lot of different sewing techniques to create Vin’s Mistborn Cosplay.

  • I spent hours embroidering by hand

  • I learned smocking and embroidered the shoulders of the shirt

  • I pulled components from multiple patterns and made alterations

  • Good old yoga pants served as leggings

  • Lots of elements have hidden interfacing and boning for stability along with hidden fasteners like eyelets and Velcro

  • The long strips that comprise the back of the mistcloak are made from fabrics that do not fray such as gauze, knit blends, and fleece.

  • I used a dress form

Leatherworking

I have some friends that do leatherworking and their creativity is contagious. Early on, I knew I wanted to make a carved leather belt for Vin’s Mistborn cosplay filled with Allomantic symbols. But starting with zero knowledge of leatherworking made that an ambitious goal. My friend’s guidance helped me be aware this can be an expensive craft, but I started with small practice projects. Soon I fell in love with leather as a versatile and beautiful medium. The tools and supplies collected slowly have been a worthwhile investment for me. Some valuable resources for this project include:

Special thanks to Desert Rat Leather for your abundant expertise.

Inspiration

At the start of the project, I began combing the internet searching for ideas. Many artists on Instagram inspired me and I wanted to thank:

Thank you also to the cosplayers who posted their Cosmere work on 17th Shard.

Photoshoot

I had a lot of help with this photoshoot and it was incredible. When I saw the initial proofs, I was completely stunned. My team did such a great job and I owe them the universe. Thank you to my family especially for making this possible and coming together to make the logistics happen. This shoot was complicated but the components came together amazingly. We needed:

  • Two amateur photographers (who were amazing)

  • An assistant to help with staging

  • Huge amounts of time editing in Lightroom

  • Cool weather - Vin’s Mistborn Cosplay is warm to wear

  • Travel arrangements and a billion other details that had to get figured out like schedules, food, and lodging

The location is a neighborhood and shopping area in McKinney, Texas outside of Dallas. The place is called Adriatica. It has a Mediterranean vibe with lots of cool shops and buildings on the water.