Introduction

So what IS a Ghillie suit?
A Ghillie suit is a heavily camouflaged suit that is designed to mimic heavy foliage, and also to break up the outline of the person wearing it. It is used by snipers across the world and also by civilian for hunting or paintballing/airsoft.
A Ghillie suit is different from a Bush Rag or a Yeti suit. The main difference is that a Ghillie suit keeps the front of the suit free from camouflage (except the pattern of the flight suit/BDU's underneath). This is done so that the user is able to crawl across the ground without tearing the camouflage off their suit. A Bush Rag has camouflage on both the front and the back and is used mainly for stalking in the crouched or standing position.
And last but not least the Yeti suit is simply a regular flight suit or BDU's (battle dress uniform) that has natural vegetation attacked to it (via rope or string). All of these different suits are highly effective but only when employed in the correct  circumstance, (e.g. you wouldn't crawl in a Bush Rag but you wouldn't stalk crouched in a Ghillie Suit)
Here are a few pictures to help illustrate the difference:

Here these two snipers are using Ghillie Suits, as you can see the camouflage is on their backs only leaving them free to crawl.

Here the guy is wearing a Bush Rag, his whole body is covered in camouflaged material

This is a Yeti suit and as you can see the natural vegetation is stuck to him, instead of being part of the suit. (sorry this was the best picture I could find of a Yeti suit, you can imagine the results I got off Google when searching for a picture -.-  )

So now we know the difference lets begin making a Ghillie suit!

Part 1 - Materials

So to start making a Ghillie Suit you are going to need some materials! Here is a list of some of the materials I used, rough cost and also where I bought them.

Main Materials

- Flight Suit-
£17.50 from www.flecktarn.co.uk
- Badminton/ Volleyball net - BLACK or GREEN
£12 from eBay/sports shop
- Unwaxed dental floss -
£2 from eBay
- Dylon Dye (woodland brown x1, olive drab x2) -
£4 per pack from eBay or fabric shop
- Canvas Material - GREEN
£8.50 from army surplus store
- Jute Twine rolls single ply - ( 2400m of Natural colour and 600m of green) 
£5.99 for 600m from eBay
- Jute potato sacks - 
£5 eBay or farm (use instead of rolls just tear them into strands)
- Boonie Hat -
£7 from www.flecktarn.co.uk
- Fabric Glue -
£3 from eBay or fabric shop


Extra's

- Viper tactical gloves -
£7 from www.flecktarn.co.uk
- Elastic Fabric - 

I found these lying around my house but here is a picture of them:
They are like an elastic waistband almost but smaller.
- Black Spray Paint -
£4 from party shop
- Paintball goggles-
£7 from eBay
- Neopreme facemask-
£5 from www.flecktarn.co.uk
 - Mosquito net-
£10 from ebay 

These are all the items you will need to create your own Ghillie Suit. And here is a picture of the lot excluding the flight suit, spray paint, dye and boonie hat:

And here is a picture of my Flight suit:

Mine is the German Flecktarn pattern but only because is was the only one I could find

Part 2 - Patches

In this section I will be showing you how to add patches to your chest, knees and elbows. These patches will be made from the canvas bag and their purpose is to add extra protection in these high wear areas and also to give those parts a longer life because the canvas is much stronger than the original flight suit.

So the first thing to do is cut the canvas into the right size and shape. On the chest you want the patch to be about two hand lengths down and one across. It should touch the seam where the zip is and also go down to the waistband on the flight suit to give maximum coverage. On the elbows it should be as big as your hand (spread your hand out and cut around it) And last but not least the knees should be about the same size and the chest patches.

Once the pieces are cut out make sure you round off any of the corners to stop them from snagging on the undergrowth. Now, using the fabric glue, glue them into place (it doesn't have to be neat its just to get them to stay in place as you sew them on)
Now using a needle and the dental floss begin sewing the patches on, just remember the more stitches you put in the stronger the suit will be. Do will this with all the patches making sure to sew OVER the edges so that it loops the thread over the edges to clamp them in place.

Here is an example of the type of loop you want to create

                                  So it the needle goes in through the patch (or net in this case)

                And then out the OTHER side to create a nice loop to avoid snagging. Repeat this process

Once this is done glue around all the edges thoroughly and let the glue dry ( this is just to keep any loose threads from snagging as your crawling around) And here is the end result!

Part 3 - Ventilation

This part is optional but it does help ALOT with the ventilation in the suit which can be handy as you do get very hot crawling around in the undergrowth. So the first thing to do is to lay the net over the back of the flight suit as shown

Now if you cut the netting so the it covers the whole back panel and also the back of the legs.

And then sew it on the same way you did the patches (loop the dental floss over the netting so that it holds it securely) Now if you have access to a sewing machine then feel free to use it as it will be ALOT quicker and neater, but what I do is use unwaxed dental floss and a needle and sew it to the suit. A good tip if you do this is to sew little latch points to the suit to help it stay in place ( just a simple knot will do fine)

 


And it should look like this!

Now if you get your scrim net (or army scarf) cut it up into the same shapes as the mosquito net BUT add a little extra (about 1-2") on the edges as shown . I use the scrim net over the top because it covers up the black panel with some camouflage so that it blends in better.

Now when you sew this part in place don't sew the edges of the scrim net down, leave them free. Instead sew the scrim net on whilst allowing the 1-2" extra to fall over the edges. (this will help break up your outline)

Now turn the flight suit over and open up the zips so you can see inside to the back panel. Now very carefully cut it away making sure not to cut the netting on the other side. The back ventilation is now done!

Now the more difficult part is the legs. Sew the legs on the same way as the back (leaving that 1-2" extra overhang) Then you need to sew a grid into the netting about 1-2 lines up and 2-3 lines across. Once this is done turn the legs inside out and CAREFULLY cut the panels between the grid on the legs, but don't cut the whole panel out just jagged sections (see example below) I do this to allow air in but make it hard to see my legs (I wear shorts whilst in the suit so this makes it harder to see any skin through the suit whereas with the back panel you would be wearing a shirt to cover up the skin)

As you can see the parts I cut away are jagged. You can also see the grid I made. This is before the scrim net went on top so you can clearly see the cuts

Once that is done the ventilation is complete!

Part 4 - Netting

We are now going to add the netting that the jute twine will attach to so a strong black/green net is advised as the stronger the net the longer the suit will last

For this part you need to get the volleyball/ badminton net and lay it over the back of the suit. Then cut it to the shape of the suit leaving out the arms (they get done separately) Now sew the net into place, looping the thread again to secure it in place. Also don't forget the cut a line so that the legs are separated down the middle!

 

Sorry about the bad picture You can just see the netting sewn on

 

Cut out some arm sections to the correct shape, they should touch each edges of the patches you made earlier and all the way up to the shoulders. Again sew them in place whilst looping the dental floss thread.

The last piece you need to cut is for the top of your shoulders. These parts should go from the top of your back netting and over your shoulders to rest on your chest (around your armpit height) and also be wide enough to touch your arm netting. Again this helps break up your figure and lets you add some twine and foliage to your suit in this area.

Now all you need to do is sew in another grid-like pattern into both the back and arm pieces to help hold the netting in the right place, without this it would pull horribly towards the ground.

Once all that is done I like to glue to netting in place around the edges and along the grid just to make sure none of the knots in the net come loose or snap.

Part 5 - Cutting and dying

Now this part isn't as dramatic as the title suggests! In this part we will be cutting up the jute twine into different lengths and then dying the whole lot lots of earthy colours.

Now the first thing to do is to get you roll of Jute Twine and a pair of sharp scissors. This part is very tedious and repetitive but don't get disheartened the easiest way to do this is to watch a film or some tv whilst cutting the thread and you will be surprised how much you can get done in just one program!

I found the easiest method was to sit on the floor with the roll between my feet, have the scissors in my right hand (or left if your left handed) and then grab the Jute Twine thread from the middle of the roll

So I hold the twine in my feet then use my left hand to pull the twine while my right (which is currently using the camera) would use the scissors

                 

This is a little trick I found out. As you go to cut the jute grab it in your fingers, this way when you cut the twine you still have hold of the roll so you don't have to pick it up again and again!

You want the threads to be between 12-18" in length (roughly) so just pull the thread up and then cut it. The trick is to grab the thread with another finger below where you cut it so that it doesnt fall to the floor that way you can just pull it back up again and cut it quickly. I normally gather about 20-30 strands in my hand then place them down and start again. Now just rinse and repeat until you have cut up all you rolls!

Now that the fun is out of the way..............yeah fun........... we can move onto something more interesting, the dying!

You will need a bucket, some hot water, your dye, lots of salt, a stick to stir the twine and your twine. Now you could read the instructions on how to do this but that's only if you want a perfectly coloured piece of fabric, and we don't, we want a natural look that's all scruffy and untidy just like nature is.

So the first thing to do is to fill the bucket 3/4 of the way up with hot water (hotter the better but be careful it's...........well going to be hot!) Now add about half a packet of green dye and stir for 30 seconds. Add in a bunch of twine (a big handful is fine) and shove it underwater with the stick. Add about half a handful of salt into the bucket and begin stirring. Let it soak in for about 5-10 minutes stirring regularly.

Now take out the twine and hang it on a clothes rack OUTSIDE (it will drip onto the floor)

                                                           It's only the beginning!

Now you want to open up your brown dye and add a dash of it into your bucket, throw in some more twine and salt a stir it like last time. Leave it to soak for 5-10 minutes again and add it to the rack!
Keep doing this until about half the brown dye has been poured in (remember to keep adding fresh hot water to the bucket) When half the packet is done you should have a nice range of greens from light-ish green to dark green. You now want to do get some browns in there!

So empty the bucket and refill it with hot water. Throw in the other half of the brown dye and stir it. Add some more twine in and salt and stir again this time leaving it in for 10-15 minutes. Add it to the rack and add some more twine into the bucket only leaving it in for 5 minutes before removing. Now  start adding some green dye into the bucket and then dying the jute. When the remanding green dye has gone you should still have one more packet left of green dye. Throw half of it into the bucket and some more twine and salt and stir. This is just to give it some more variance in colour. After removing the first bunch of twine throw in another bunch (this should provide a lighter colour of the one before)

Now empty your bucket and fill it with hot water again, then dump the last of the green dye in the bucket and the remaining twine. Leave this in the bucket for a good 20+ minutes to really let it soak in (making sure to stir frequently). Hang the last batch up and leave it to dry. It takes ages to fully dry so leaving it overnight in the garage or back garden is a good idea (as long as it isn't raining!)

The lighting is bad as all my green is at the back in shadows so it looks brown! But you get the idea.

Part 6 - Tying the twine

This is the final MAJOR step (there are a few things to do after but they are small details to add) and its tying on the twine to the netting and flight suit! Again this is a very simple task but one that takes some time and is quite repetitive so it's time to go and put on a movie!

Now the idea here is to add the camouflage on so that it mimics the surroundings. So you want to add the colours on in big patches and of colour rather than a couple of green strands next to a few brown strands. A good idea is to look at some real camouflage and mimic the pattern. Here is the camo I used as reference:

 It is British Army DPM Camouflage and as you can see it uses big patches of colour.

So a good idea is to separate your Twine into piles depending on their colour; light browns, dark browns, light green and dark greens.

Now starting from the bottom of the legs start tying you twine on. Nothing fancy simply thread about 4-8 strands of the same colour under the net and the tie a simple knot in it.

First: Loop the twine around the net

Bring one side over to the other side

Pull the loose end through the hoop

And pull both ends tightly!

Keep doing this remembering to make big patches until you have done the whole suit! You DON'T want it to be too thick either, there should be patches of nothing as well because you will need room for the foliage later

Far away the suit looks full

But close up there are plenty of handy gaps

 

So here is my suit with no foliage on! The hat is really simple to do just add the volleyball net to it, sew it on and add some twine!

Part 7 - Final Touches

Now that you have your basic Ghillie suit there are a few things you can do to make it that extra bit more comfortable and a few things that are essential.

The first thing to do is to use those elastic fabric strips from earlier

These are really good because I find that when I am crawling around my suit hitches up around my legs and arms. To counter this all you have to do is cut two of these into about 10cm strips and the sew them to the inside of your sleeves. When you put the suit on your thumb should go on one side and your fingers on the other. Now whenever the suit pulls these pull it back, stopping it from riding up!

[PICTURE COMING SOON]

The legs are  basically the same apart from the fact that you want to sew the straps higher up so that when you put your boots on the hem of your trousers can go over the boot. So just make the legs straps longer and sew them on as well!

[PICTURE COMING SOON]

 Now another thing to do is camouflage your boots because they have a tendency to stick out like a sore thumb because they are all black. So all I did was use the remaining scrim net and hang it over my boots. Used the elastic strips from above to hold it in place then glue it on. Tied some twine to it an ta-da! Here is the result:

Another great thing to do is to get the Ghillie suit dirty. This helps roughen the suit up and get it looking like the natural world, nothing in nature is clean and tidy so neither should your suit be! Just lye on the floor and roll around in some dirt and mud until you get the right effect.

The last thing you could do is get your black spray paint and go over the front of your suit with it in lines. This will help break up the solid green patches on your front. Just be careful not to over do it (also do it outside, you don't want to choke on the paint)

As you can see the black paint breaks up the green

Part 8 - Foliage

Now that your happy with your Ghillie suit the last thing to do is the add some foliage to it. This is best done out in the area that you are going to be using it as you will want to match that environment. This part is really fun and easy but can be made easier with a friend to help you.

All you have to do is grab bits of the surrounding foliage and shove it into the netting of your suit. Grab twigs, bits of bushes, grass you name it grab it and shove it in. This part is made easier by a friend because they can put it in the right places when your standing up. If you don't have a friend to help then place it on the floor and add it that way.

Now this won't be perfect for everywhere you are going to be hiding today so it's always good practice to add more foliage every time you hide, so just whenever you lie down just grab some nearby bush and add it to your suit. This will allow you to really blend in.

Now just keep topping your suit up with fresh foliage and go and have fun!

Finished product

So here are some pictures and videos of me and my friend using out Ghillie suits.

Alex's Ghillie suit from the front

Alex's from the side

Alex's from the back

Mine from the front

Mine from the side

Mine from the back

      

So as you can see mine and his vary slightly, mine is darker than his and I used canvas for all my patches where as he used an old pair of jeans for his knees and elbows. He is going to spray them black and green at a later date.

HD Video

This is my first HD ghillie suit video compilation featuring myself and Alex. We both made our Ghillie suits ourselves from scratch using the methods shown in this blog. Hope you enjoy!