[razgriz22]

So I have made a ghillie top in the past and put countless hours into it. Sadly im not 100% happy with how it turned out. When I started making it, I wasn't really sure how my play style was. Now slowing learning this, I realize that i don't want a full ghille. I only want the brush on the back of my jacket.

So now going through the process again I am trying to save time and frustration by making it exactly what I want this time. I dont want to skimp out on the materials like I did last time (Got a jacket from salvation army that wasnt the best platform but was still cheap). I also used netting that was a thick black wider netting. 2 inches apart i believe. My coloring was off with the burlap also. So i want this one to be perfect.

I am looking to have one that is a brownish color but not desert. More of a fall ghillie. If i use it outside of fall i just plan on using alot of vegetation to counter the browns. I'd like to make a 2 piece ghillie with the back of the pants and jacket being the only places covered with burlap. Id also make my own hood for the outfit.

1. What is the best camo to base a ghille off of? (I was thinking about acu with a little bit of brown die to make it less green/ grey looking. Or just getting it really dirty haha

2. Where is the best place to get a ghillie kit with said colors in it and a good size/quality netting? ( i stripped my own burlap last time and it was a pain in the @$$. I want to avoid that if possible this time)

3. What is the best size netting to use in your opinion? What has worked best for you guys?

Lastly, if you have any tips or comments that may further my knowledge of the ghillie please feel free to help me out.

Thanks!

 

[fuzzywolly]

I made a ghillie where the jute was only on the back of my jacket and pants, along with a headpiece.

1. I used a woodland jacket. Its dirty as hell, so pretty much just mud now (for the most part)

2. You do not need to buy a ghillie kit. I would go to a store like Michael's and buy some fishing net. You can get jute at walmart. Jute is burlap, only cut up for you. This stuff is easy to use and can be had cheap. I used this on my ghillie, and it saved me alot of time.

3. I use 1 in x 1 in netting. I really like using this size. Worked great for me. I skipped every few spots attaching jute as I went. Usually put in two pieces of jute per every four or five squares. Then I go back and add different colors inbetween.

Tips:

1. Tie the netting down by using dental floss. Then go over it with shoe goo. It will make sure your ghillie is durable, and that the netting is secure.

2. When dying the jute, and figuring out what colors to use, have a plan. For instance, I wanted to use mine all year round. In order to make an effective ghillie for year round use, I had to have a particular color scheme. During the fall, around my area, there is little to no vegetation. So using tons of green colors would not be very beneficial. Therefore, I set up my suit with a tan base. I recommend doing this as a ghillie with only tan can still be very affective. In fact, I have read some military snipers sometimes stick to natural jute (tanish) and just rely on natural vegetation.

Once you have the tan base, then add some other colors. I have some brown in there with a touch of green. This makes the suit usable in the fall and winter months as there is not too much green that would stick out. In the summer months, when green plants are abundant, just add some natural vegetation to make the suit more green and blendable (is that a word

)

Overall, thats what I would do to make an affective suit for year round use, without having to do a ton of modification, removing jute, etc. etc. Just remember, its easier to make a light suit darker, than making a dark suit lighter. Natural veg can easily darken things up if your suit is too light, but its much more difficult to make a dark suit lighter. With that said, if you do decide to add some green colors in there, do not go crazy with it. Add little by little until you feel there is enough on there. I had to take some jute out of my ghillie, and let me tell you, its not a whole lot of fun. : Its easy, but time consuming.

 

[razgriz22]

Awesome suggestions fuzzy! Thanks so much. I was leaning towards brown/ tan and adding green through natural vegetation. Then depending on the season would determine how much and how dark of vegetation id add.

So but 1 inch netting from a hobby/ fabric store and stich it on with dental floss then use shoe goo.

cool! thank you

 

[fuzzywolly]

No problem. One more tip that I would like to add here:

When tying the netting on, do not put netting down on the entire back of the pants. I will tell you why below:

Here is a picture of what I did:

Notice the netting starts alittle lower down, rather than at the very top. Why you ask? Reason being, when you tie the netting onto the jacket, the jute will hang down past the very bottom of it. It will go down and cover up the open area on the pants. This allows you to not have unnecessary jute on there thats only going to weigh you down.

Also, make sure you wrap the netting around the pants just alittle. Reason being, you want the jute to cover up your back side when you put the pants on. When you lay the pants on the ground, just attaching netting to that part won't do the job. You have to slightly wrap the netting around the sides to cover up everything.

Same thing applies to the jacket. When you lay it out on the ground, you have to wrap netting around the sides to cover up the areas necessary. If you don't, when you put it on, it will leave alittle space open along your arms open. It looks and feels silly. If you forget, no worries. Remember you can always attach more netting.

Here is a close up of the floss for you. Just alittle dab of shoe goo over top and you are good to go. Just make sure to let it dry.

 

[razgriz22]

Ok thanks. Great pictures. Your netting is really tiny. Did that make it easier or harder to work with. Your jute strands also look quite thick. Maybe that's because im used to burlap strands?

 

[fuzzywolly]

The netting is small. I was very hesitant at first to use it, but I found that it works great and is easy to work with. I have used burlap and when its shredded up, it is alot thinner than the jute you can buy in the little packages.

 

[razgriz22]

Ok, so i picked up some acu camo for the platform to make the ghillie from. I now just have to get it really dirty or dye it. Will putting it in a little bit of brown dye equally change each camo color darker? I have never dyed camo before. If not, dirt may be the key lol. I am looking at 1 inch netting. It seems to be a nice size. I am debating between jute and burlap. i like the thin-ness of burlap. just seems too thick for me. I just dread stripping more burlap haha. Ill try and post pics of my stages of progress.

 

[dutton]

Here's a link from my home forums that may help you decide whether or not you want to use dye.

http://www.airsoftohio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=27347&highlight=dye

 

[razgriz22]

Just got a used but in almost perfect condition set of acu's for only $25 shipped to my door . I liked the link that Dutton posted about dying ACU's. I feel like if I play with the dyes I can get what colors i want from my camo. I also picked up nautical fish netting from AC Moore that is PERFECT for the ghillie. Now I just have to get to reinforcing the knees and elbows of the camo and get to dying!

 

[gsc]

Fuzzy has some good tips. I sell the ghillie kits and the main difference I see is that the jute strands are smaller than fuzzy's. While you can certainly cut and dye it yourself, I believe the time saving for getting a kit is worthwhile.

Also, if you would like to save even more time, if you are good at using the shoegoo you do not need to sew the netting on. I've made a few using just the goo and it holds up just as well.

One last thing, when you are tying the thread onto the netting, don't just tie it all on at one time. Take breaks, wear the jacket and look in the mirror, lay it on the ground and step back, lay it outside and look at it from far away. You can make adjustments on the fly this way in case you happen to fill one area with too much of one color.

 

[silentfury214]

GSC, please make an intro post and read the rules.