Ghillie
Construction Tips |
Ghillie
Patent #6500214
Ghillie Construction Tips
When constructing a ghillie
suit there are a few basic things to remember. First, the
ghillie suit is only a tool to aid the sniper in stalking his target.
The suit does not make the sniper invisible and definitely does
not make the sniper bullet proof. If the a sniper makes poor
decisions in creating a hide, breaks rules of movement, makes excessive
noise, or is just unlucky, the ghillie suit will not help.
The construction of a ghillie suit is left
up to the individual sniper's imagination. There is no real
"wrong" way to make or wear a suit. Each sniper
has different methods of doing things and has different wants and
needs in a suit. Be as creative as you want to make the thing
as comfortable and useful as possible to you. A good ghillie suit
can easily take over 40 hours of hard work to make and then need
additional maintenance each time you stalk in it.
***for more tips, check out the "Past
Q&A" section.
Ghillie Base. The
ghillie suit can be started with several types of bases. Most
users start with the basic BDU's. Other good bases are
OD green mechanic coveralls and nomax flight suits (although this
is very expensive for our purposes). If the ghillie suite
is to be used in a sand or snow environment then a different base
should be used, or the above bases could be machine dyed.
The tips we have started are aimed at BDU's. Any other base
you use, you will need to modify these tips to fits your needs.
Front Crawl Panels. The
front panels of a ghillie suit usually get the most abuse and need
to be the strongest. These panels will also need the most
maintenance and replacement. A good strong canvas is best used for
this purpose. You will need a strong canvas needle and strong
thread to attach this.
- Remove all pockets from the front of BDUs,
or at least remove the buttons. These pockets are going
to be covered and the buttons will get painful as you crawl on
your stomach. These pockets that you remove can be attached
to other area on your BDU's later.
- Cut two panels to fit the entire front
of the jacket, from the top shoulder seam to the bottom seam.
The panels for the arms should be cut to fit the underside of
the arms (Put the jacket on and lay in a prone position with your
arms in a crawling arrangement. Look at the area will come
in contact with ground. This is where the arms panels go). The
legs area covered from seam to seam in the front.
- The elbows and knees will need to
be "double" patched since these areas will get the
most punishment. Cut an extra piece to cover each of
these locations. Some sort of padding may be placed
in-between these layers to help protect the bones. Your
knees and elbows will get sore after crawling long enough. If
padding is used between the layers you must know that it
may wear the cover layer down faster.
- With the heavy thread and
canvas needle, sew all of the edges down. Once all of the
edges are attached, take "shoe goo" or "liquid
nails" and lay a bead on all of these edges. Use a putty
knife and smooth the goo out, covering the stitches and making
sure to cover the seam that you just created with the canvas.
Once this dries, it will help keep the canvas from pulling
up and tearing off while you are crawling.
- After this shoe goo dries
you must insure that you spray paint it, even the clear stuff.
All of these materials give off a shine once they are dry
and shine can get you killed.
Back Netting - This type of netting can be used
here. What most of us here use are cheap nylon hammocks bought from
Wal-Mart type stores. They come all bunched up in tight little balls.
The nylon tends to last longer and not dry-rot as fast as other
materials.
- Cut the netting to fit the back of the
jacket and pants. On the jacket, the netting should fit from the
top of the shoulders to the bottom and from side seam to side
seam.
- With the thread and needle "tack"
the netting on all edges, then tack some of the center squares. You
want to skip around so the the netting can move, but you also
want it very secure.
- Once all the netting is secured, take
the shoe goo and put a drop on all of the thread. Once
this dries, it will help keep the thread from pulling loose or
unraveling.
- These spots of thread and shoe goo
will have to be spot painted to take down the shine.
Burlap Strips. Burlap can
be found at many stores and in many locations. Find "Feed
stores" or plant stores and ask them. Some outdoor recreation
stores will carry it or can order it. We did a search on the
internet for burlap and came up with over 3,500 hits. Of
the first 10, 6 sold burlap in one form or another.
- The burlap will need to be dyed to the
colors necessary for the area of operations.
- Cut the burlap or jute into 2" wide
x 9" strips. You don't want them all exactly
the same length so don't waste you time measuring them all out. We
are creating this ghillie to break up patterns and don't want
to replace one pattern with another.
- Starting at the bottom and skipping netting
holes, tie one end of the strips into the netting leaving 2/3
of the strip hanging free. Work across and up the net.
make sure that you randomly place the colors. You want
a nice blend of colors not big blobs.
- Make sure that you don't put strips or
netting on the arms. These will only get pulled off
as you crawl. In addition, you do not want strips on the
front of the suit for the same reasons. At the bottom of
the pants, cut the strips off just above the heels of your boots
so you don't step on any. This too can pull your netting
off.
- Once all of the netting and strips are
in place, go back to the beginning (the bottom) and "shred"
the burlap or jute. To accomplish this you must remove (pull
out) all of the cross threads. This leaves the long strands
hanging free and turns one 2"x9" strip into 30 little
strings. This is the effect we want. Each of these
hanging strings can later be used to tie in natural veg. plus
it helps break up your outline.
- This phase of the construction is
very messy. "ghillie worms" (the pulled out
cross threads) end up everywhere. This is best done
in a garage or outside.
- if you take a couch needle (shaped
like a hook or coat hanger
head) and hook the strip in the middle, it will pull the lines
out like
a dream. Holding the knot of the burlap with your opposite
hand with
reduce stress on netting attached to BDU.
- After all of the burlap is shredded put
the ghillie on and lay prone. Have a friend look for "bald" spots
that you need to fill in.
Hat. The same process will
be done with you hat. Boonie caps tend to work best because
of the wide brim. You will want the front overhang to be fairly
short so you can see, but make a long, wide tail in the back.
This tail will cover your neck as you crawl. Once you get
into position, the hat can be turned around backwards and the tail
placed over the scope to provide extra camo. This will also
help hide any shine from the bullet casings reflecting in the sun.
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