Alright, let me tell you about putting together this brown ghillie suit. It wasn’t rocket science, but it sure took some time and patience.
Getting Started – The Base
First off, I needed something to actually attach all the floppy bits to. Dug around and found an old set of BDU’s, jacket and pants. They were already a kind of faded woodland camo, which was okay, but I wanted more brown, like dead leaves and dirt. Could’ve used any tough clothes really, but these felt right.
Next big thing was the netting. You need this layer over the clothes to tie the camouflage onto. I got some strong, kinda flexible netting. Didn’t want anything too stiff or too heavy. Laid the jacket and pants flat on the floor and draped the netting over them. Had to cut the netting to shape, leaving a bit extra around the edges.
Attaching the Netting
This part was a bit tedious. Used some heavy-duty thread, almost like fishing line but not plastic, and basically sewed the netting onto the BDU’s. Didn’t do every single square, but tacked it down really well all over, especially around the shoulders, back, and legs. You don’t want it sagging or ripping off when you move. Took a good few hours just doing this, sitting on the floor, stitching away.
Preparing the ‘Ghillie’ Material
Okay, the main event. Needed the actual camo strips. I grabbed a bunch of burlap sacks – the rough, scratchy kind. Heard some people use jute twine too, but I went with burlap. Cut those sacks into long strips, maybe one or two inches wide. This step made a huge mess. Burlap fibers went everywhere. My hands got itchy.
The natural burlap color was too light, too yellowish. I wanted that deep, muddy, forest floor brown. So, dyeing time. Got a few different shades of brown fabric dye. Mixed them up in buckets with hot water. Did some test strips first to see how the color took. Then I just dunked bundles of the burlap strips into the dye buckets. Let them soak for a while, stirring them around.
Pulling them out was messy too. Squeezed out the extra dye (wearing gloves, learned that quick). Then I hung all these wet, dyed burlap strips up to dry. Used clotheslines in the garage. Took a couple of days for them to dry completely, and yeah, the garage had a distinct ‘wet burlap’ smell.
Tying Everything On
Once the strips were dry, the real marathon began. This is where the suit actually starts looking like a ghillie suit. Took the jacket and pants (with the netting attached) and started tying the burlap strips onto the netting. Simple overhand knots, nothing fancy. Grab a small bunch of strips, fold ’em in half, push the loop through a net square, and pull the ends through the loop. Tighten it up.
Did this thousands of times. Seriously. Just kept going, knot after knot. Tried to mix up the different shades of brown I ended up with after dyeing. Didn’t want solid blocks of color. Spread them out randomly. Focused more strips on the back and shoulders, less on the stomach where you might be crawling.
- Shoulders and back got extra attention.
- Arms and legs got good coverage too.
- Front was a bit lighter, but still covered.
Checked it as I went. Held it up, shook it out. Tried to make sure there weren’t big gaps. If I saw a thin spot, I added more strips.
Finishing Touches
After all the tying, the thing was heavy! Put it on. Looked in a mirror (or tried to). Yeah, it looked like a pile of dead leaves, which was the goal. Had to trim some strips that were way too long, especially around where my hands and face would be. Don’t want stuff flopping in your eyes.
Important bit: I roughed up the burlap strips a bit more. Rubbed them together, frayed the edges. Made it look less like neat strips and more like random natural stuff.
And that was pretty much it. Took a good chunk of time, mostly the tying part. But ended up with a custom brown ghillie suit made from scratch. Pretty satisfying seeing it all come together from a pile of netting and burlap.
