Construction Materials for the Ghillie:
Base Garment:
This could be an old flight suit, overalls, or camouflage clothes.
(preferably of a similar color to the end color of the suit).
Camoflage Anchor:
This is placed on the outside of the base garment, securely attached to it, to provide attachment points for the ghillie material. Usually made of netting or similar material. I found that an issue-style insect repellent garment works well.
Ghillie Material:
The basic ghillie material consists of jutte cord or rope cut into short lengths of 1-3 feet. Burlap is a good material to add, in small strips, 1/2 to 3/4 inch wide in 1-3 foot lenghts.
Construction:
The outer garment is turned inside-out. This allows for the use of the interior pockets while wearing the suit.
The camouflage anchor is attached securely to the outside of the base garment. Attatching it in spots rather than everywhere allows for the strips to be attached and removed as needed. This also allows for ease of repair better than attatching the strips directly to the outer garment.
If you are making a crawl suit, the front of the chest, arms, and leggs should be left bare. A durable material that aproximates the color of the suit would then be added to the bare areas to reinforce the suit. This will allow the wearer to crawl over rough surfaces more comfortably.
If it is a walking suit, the material may be attached all over.
Some ghillies are made to cover just the shooter while in position. This style only covers the weapon, head and shoulders of the shooter. It is a lighter and more mobile setup but is not a true wearable ghillie.
A hood may be added that is either attached to the main suit or a separate unit to use as a position drape.
The entire suit should be able to cover the shoes of the wearer, or a separate shoe cover can be made. One thing that most ghillie makers forget to cover is the shooter's hands. Some wear gloves or a camo paste is applied to the hands. If the color of the gloves or paste is signifigantly different from the suit, it will be as bad as a bare hand. Use a glove that has a small amount of burlap attached, but not so much to impede movement of the hand. Keep in mind you will need to make scope and equipment adjustments.
The finished suit should be "brushed". Using the hands, go through the suit to find any loose material that may fall away and leave a trail of material.
The suit should also be "washed" with water only. Not in a machine! Hang it up and spray it with water to get the fibers to swell and become more bulky. The Marines have their prospective shooters swim through mud holes to give the suit a more even and natural color. Not so much as for the benefit of exercising their snipers under a soaking wet 50+ pound suit..............
(yea right!!!)
But it has it's benefits.
You are now ready to "VEG OUT"!
What the HELL does "VEGGING OUT" have to do with the suit?!
If you have to ask, I'm not telling!
