Make a ghillie suit.

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Make Your Own Ghillie Suit

Original Ghillie Suit instructions by Ghillie Suits.com. Slight modifications.

Within Todd's instructions for the Ghillie Suit, you will find references to Evil-Mart. This has been edited by Paintball Gods and is not the work of Todd Muirhead. We do not recommend nor condone shopping at Evil-Mart. It is possible to purchase items in the ghillie suit instructions at retailers other than Evil-Mart. We recommend you try the other retailers.

1) Supplies Needed -

BDUs - Camo pants and coat, Army style $5.00-$9.95 each for used at Army Navy.

Netting - I found that a Volleyball replacement net at Evil-Mart is about the cheapest around. Cheaper than your local Army Navy store for $14.95.

Dental Floss - (1) - Waxed, but not scented. $4.95 Evil-Mart.

Sewing needle - (1) - $1.95 Sewing fabric show or Evil-Mart.

ShoeGoo - (1) - $4.95 Evil-Mart.

Dyeing Containers - (3) - Evil-Mart $4.95 (same as storage containers).

Fabric Dye - 2-3 packs per color - The liquid cost $1.00 more than the powder. I tried them both, they both work fine. $1.95-$2.95 Evil-Mart, or a Fabric store.

Jute Twine, or Burlap- I tried the Burlap fabric first, which I bought at a fabric store, but once you attach it to your suit, you have to pull out each horizontal thread to get a good look. That was way too time consuming. So I did some research and found Jute twine rolled into 25lb. spools which is used to make the Burlap fabric. I cut the spool into 18"- 24" pieces using a drill attached to a wood drum. The roll was placed on a metal bar in a vice so it would spin. Then I just spun off the roll and cut it.

Images of supplies needed below -

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2) Assembling your Ghillie Suit

A) Lay your BDUs on the ground and place the netting over them.	Click above for larger image (opens in new window)
B) Cut the netting so it will wrap around the arms. Make only the shown cuts.	Click above for larger image (opens in new window)
C)Wrap the netting around to the front of the BDUs and cut to leave a 2x3" square piece, which will be used next.	Click above for larger image (opens in new window)
D) Place the left over 2x3" square on the front of the BDUs as in the photo. Now do the same for the pants. Take care not to sew the netting over where you will be wearing your belt. I started just below the belt loops. To cut down on weight you can start sewing the netting on the pants just below the front pockets. Make your jacket first to see were your jute hangs down to position the netting for your pants. Or do what I did and attach just below the belt line.	Click above for larger image (opens in new window)
E) Cut a piece for the back face flap either 4x3" squares, or my favorite 5x5". You must also cut a piece of fabric to attach to this. I used another BDU jacket, since It was the same color. I cut it so I could get 3 hoods out of it from the back. Each arm was cut and un-folded for a hood. Make sure to keep the camo side showing rather than my photo of the other side, as I goofed. You want the jute attached to non-camo inside so when you are not wearing the hood, it is still camouflage. camo.	Click above for larger image (opens in new window) Click above for larger image (opens in new window)
Now you have several hours of work. You must sew the netting to the BDUs using waxed dental floss, non-scented. Sew on every knot, making sure when you get to a pocket, to decide if you want to use the pocket or not. If you would like to use the pocket, make the proper cuts in the netting to allow it to be used. When all knots have been sewn and the netting is secure, use the Shoe Goo to put a dab on every sewn knot. This ensures the knot will not come apart and your suit will last a long time. I'm sure you noticed upon completion that along the arms it is a little open. That is for bow hunters. The opening allows for more room to pull back your bow while not interfering with the suit.	Click above for larger image (opens in new window)
F) Now cut your Burlap, or Jute twine into 18"-24" lengths. I will discuss the Jute twine, since I have tried the Burlap approach and felt it was too time consuming. I jury-rigged a contraption so I could attach my cordless drill to it and spin the twine off the spool. Then I would cut the twine in the middle, giving me the lengths I needed.	Click above for larger image (opens in new window) Click above for larger image (opens in new window)
G) Next you need to dye your Jute twine to match the surroundings you will be wearing your suit in. I made 3 different suits, Mossy Oak, Desert Camo, and Woodland. I placed the cut Jute on plastic hangers and dipped it into containers purchased at Evil-Mart. Then I allowed them to dry. You will need to dye more of your base color than any other color. Woodland camo - Base color - Dark green Mossy Oak - Base color - Gray Desert Camo - Base color - Natural-Light Brown	Click above for larger image (opens in new window)

H) Now you need to attach the Jute twine. Start by attaching a little of the base (about 5-15 strands) to every side of the square netting. You attach it by wrapping the Jute around a netting square and tying a knot in the middle. Make sure you tie a knot in the middle or you will get a bunched up look. This is why I like Jute twine to be 18"-24" in length as it offers better coverage, with a non-bunched up look.

When the base is completely covered, start by adding the other colors. Black after the base color followed by dark brown, lighter brown, greens, and finally lighter greens. Look at a camo shirt to get the idea. That's why I like the Mossy tree bark, it has a great look that adapts to anything. (When in the field, you can always add tree branches, other leaves, etc., to the netting to add to the look.) Make sure when attaching the Jute to periodically lift the suit and give it a good shaking to fluff up the material. Try and get the suit to lay flat, to see what it looks like. Make sure you have enough but not excessive coverage. It can get heavy if you attach too much.

3) Finished products

Desert Camo Full

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Mossy Tree Bark Full

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Mossy Tree Bark Full - 2

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4) Where to purchase Jute twine

- Do you like what you see, but don't want to make a Ghillie Suit yourself?

- Do you not have the workshop to make a Ghillie Suit?

- Do you need a kit or the materials to make a Ghillie Suit?

Visit Ghillie Suits.com. They will be able to help you with whatever you are looking for. Tell them the Paintball Gods sent you.

Pre-cut, pre-dyed Jute is available as well. 1 suit requires 10-12lbs of Jute.

5) Total cost + total hours

BDUs @ $5.00 each = $10.00	Dental Floss = $4.95	Netting = $14.95	Sewing Needle = $1.95
Shoe Goo = $4.95	Containers 3@$4.95 = $14.85	Fabric Dye "Rit" 3-Grey@ $1.98, 3-Black@ $1.98. 3-Brown@ $1.98, 3-Dark Green@ $1.98, 3-Light Brown@ $1.98 = $29.70	Jute Twine 8 rolls @ $73.13 = $585.00 which gets you 3 suits = $24.38 per suit.

Grand total for material per suit $105.73
Total hours to complet one suit-

Cutting netting = 5 minutes
Sew the netting = 5-6 hours per half ( jacket & pants) = 10-12 hours
Shoe Goo = 5 minutes
Dying fabric = 2 hours
Attaching Jute twine per half = 1-2 hours

Total time to do one complete ghillie suit = approx. 20 hours.

Ghillie Suit Modifications by James Nannery

Ok this is how we make the suit in the Marine Corps. Use the same pattern as before except turn the jacket inside out if you want to use the pockets this WILL put them on the inside. Next, you'll need to get some heavy canvas - this gets sewn down the two front quarters of the blouse ( left and right front halves) and along the front of the legs. Double up around the knees and elbows this will make them last longer and provide some cushion for low crawling for hours on end. At some point wax the canvas - this will help keep you reasonably dry on wet grass or in the mud. As a sniper spends most of his time either hunched over and moving silently or crawling on his belly there is really no need to attach anything to the front of the suit. In addition, anything you place on the chest or front legs of the suit creates "drag" and you'll have to work that much harder to move and this will increase the chance of making noise or leaving behind.

Now that you have your netting sewn on to the BDU's you have to ask yourself what type of terrain do I operate in most often. If it's grass lands you'll need to go heavy, scrubrush a moderate amount and in deep woods I'd personally go pretty light which still means that the BDU's are covered entirely in netting and garnish, layering up for the different areas you operate in. Use a combination of jute and pieces of tow sack dyed to the colors of your area of operations.

Now, here's the fun part of the whole deal - all that netting that you've sewn to the blouse and trousers can be used to shove local plant life into. If you play with tree huggers you might want them to look away while you or a buddy does this for you. This really does help. Disguised like this you should look like anywhere else in the playing area. Remember if it looks exotic it is! The idea here is to blend in not stand out. Jute rope and tow sacks are pretty easy to get: jute can be gotten from just about any crafts store most people use it for making potted plant hangings, and tow sacks from any hard ware store they cost from a few cents to a couple of bucks apiece. Just a few tips. Good luck and happy hunting.

Thanks to paintballgods.com for letting me use there How to.