[ronnokk]

Hey everyone,

I've finally grown tired of driving to michaels, buying burlap, spending hours destringing, and dying. I only have about 2lbs of the stuff, and it's just too time consuming. I've decided to purchase some pre-dyed and strung thread online. I am stuck with a dilemma, however: Synthetic Thread or Natural Jute?

The synthetic material is only about 40% of the weight of jute, and I won't have to deal with the dust that comes off of it. I do have a few concerns about it though. How, in terms of camouflage, does it compare to natural jute? Also, will it tangle up like jute will? If so, that's a huge plus.

And finally, where would you recommend I buy it? I've checked on many ghillie sites, but they all kill you on shipping..$20 for UPS ground? The nerve.

I guess that's it for now. Any input or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

 

[bobgengeskahn]

I've never used it, but something to consider is the other players at your field and if they do night games. If anyone uses ANY kind of NVGs you'll glow like a spotlight if there is anything synthetic in your ghillie.

As far as shipping goes, you can find deals on E-Bay. I got 5lbs of natural uncolored jute on E-Bay and paid flat rate shipping (like $10).

 

[ronnokk]

We do host night games every full moon, however, nobody is willing to risk their expensive night vision getting shot. Do you know how it handles light in the day time?

 

[inthetallgrass]

Sorry but synthetic jute will nver match natural in terms of camo. It doens't unwind, blend, colour as well etc.

I live in Ireland and I went on a rant before complaining about Irish snipers. Nearly everyone in Ireland uses a store bought ghillie suit rather then make one. All of the store bought ones blend in as well as Victoria beckham does in a bargin clothes shop (terrible saying I know) they are crap full stop. However if you were to arrange it yourself it would be much better but still not comparable to the real deal. Just do half jute half synthetic if time is a problem

 

[bobgengeskahn]

Well, its not 'shiny' if thats what you're thinking, it's just a syntheitc fabric, or in this case thread.

 

[awagg]

Link? Then we can actually see without speculating...

 

[ronnokk]

Well, I think I'll use the 2lbs of jute I already have, 3.5lbs of synthetic, and top it off with some natural tan raffia, which seems to blend very well inthetallgrass of my field (see what I did there?).

 

[awagg]

Hahahahaha, nice one... I would recommend just pure jute and other natural items. You can also cut burlap into strips to give the ghillie a little form. Then, you can also take dyed canvas, and tie this to your ghillie, also giving it form and bulk. Through the whole process, remember that ghillies should be around 40%-50% jute, and 50%-60% vegetation. So make it a little sparse, and fill it in later with veg.

 

[bobgengeskahn]

There area a lot of options if you wanted to go with natural jute besides taking burlap apart too (and a lot less mess).

There is jute twine:
http://www.google.com/products/catalog?hl=en&q=jute+string&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=14915084188133526252#

You can take that apart for a few smaller strands or leave it whole in areas to fill in the ghillie.

Theres normal jute:
http://www.opentip.com/Sporting-Goods/Ghillie-Suit-Jute-String-Natural-Tan-p-1149613.html

Then theres your normal burlap.

You should get all 3 to some extent and dye all three in the colors you want and use a mixture to fill out the suit.

Like awagg said:

Through the whole process, remember that ghillies should be around 40%-50% jute, and 50%-60% vegetation. So make it a little sparse, and fill it in later with veg.

So depending on your suit you don't actually need that much jute. I only used about 3lb on my crawl suit and was able to fill it out with burlap strips and the thick stuff before adding veg.

None of this is to say that you don't know how to make a ghillie (god knows theres more information on this board than I can put into one post). Point being that the natural stuff is better and you probably dont need as much as you think to do the ghillie right, I mean you already have 2lb done!

One note too, I bought the straight jute from that site (I think it was that site, it was a while ago), but the jute that came was much lighter than the stuff I stripped from the burlap, physically and color wise.

 

[awagg]

Oh, that too. Forgot to mention, jute twine (thicker, and twisty) works really well too. Don't put too much, but some green twine really gives the "shrubbery" look to your suit. Also, I had no clue you could buy jute by the pound, without having to string burlap... must... resist... suit... two...

 

[ronnokk]

Trust me, I'll need alot. 6'2", 290lbs, 56inch chest....I'll need alot of jute. Well, looks like I'll be going natural then. I've tried destringing jute twine, and it was worse than burlap, and I don't like how thick it gets after it's been dyed.

 

[bobgengeskahn]

6'2" is pretty tall, what are you going to do for a hat/hood? I opted for the hood on mine ( I like being able to turn my head without moving the ghillie around too much), but you can probably save some jute and get some ventilation by using a boonie instead, I know a lot of people around here prefer that method.

The thicker stuff adds a good look to the suit, but since I have looked at your field pics you probably won't need it since most of your field is grass.

This is the suit that I made for grassland if youre interested:

Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

 

[awagg]

Wrong thread I went for the boonie style. It's nice because it's cooler and you get more air circulation on hot days. Also, you can just take it off if you are really hot, and stash it in your car or pack. You also can wear it with your normal BDU's, if you want to disguise the round ball head look (easy to spot). I really need to post some pics of my ghillie. I'll try to find my camera.

 

[newbie]

as previously stated I have a synthetic ghillie and it does not blend / season well and just kind of stays the same

 

[inthetallgrass]

I have proof. Go to my field on a busy day and see the people who think they are invisible.

 

[ronnokk]

Ok, update time.

I just spent the last 3 hours going from store to store to resupply. Scored a great deal on some awesome burlap at Joann's Fabric. $1.99 a yard for a good tight weave. Picked up 6 yards of that (in addition to the 6 yards I already have destrung, bundled, and dyed). I was also able to buy 1.5lbs of Raffia at Michael's for $12. A bit expensive, but oh well.

As for Bob's question, I'm using the standard boonie with netting tied on with floss+reinforced with shoo goo. I'm adding the raffia to it now..Let me just say; This stuff is INCREDIBLE! The short strands stand straight up, just like the grass I play in, and the long strands help the jute stand up. I can't believe I wasn't using this stuff before.

 

[inthetallgrass]

Ok, update time.

I just spent the last 3 hours going from store to store to resupply. Scored a great deal on some awesome burlap at Joann's Fabric. $1.99 a yard for a good tight weave. Picked up 6 yards of that (in addition to the 6 yards I already have destrung, bundled, and dyed). I was also able to buy 1.5lbs of Raffia at Michael's for $12. A bit expensive, but oh well.

As for Bob's question, I'm using the standard boonie with netting tied on with floss+reinforced with shoo goo. I'm adding the raffia to it now..Let me just say; This stuff is INCREDIBLE! The short strands stand straight up, just like the grass I play in, and the long strands help the jute stand up. I can't believe I wasn't using this stuff before.

Make sure when attaching the netting you do it in sectionsl like one rectangle on on e arm, another on the other, a big one on th back and another one on each leg, keeping each seperate. I made the mistake of not doing that IE just cutting out the shape of the suit in netting and my manouvrebility (bad spelling I know) was severely hampered.

 

[ronnokk]

Yeah, I'll be sure to do that. I used 1 piece on my boonie, and while it works, it does seem a little bit still (I can't pull the brim down).

 

[bobgengeskahn]

Ok, update time.

As for Bob's question, I'm using the standard boonie with netting tied on with floss+reinforced with shoo goo. I'm adding the raffia to it now..Let me just say; This stuff is INCREDIBLE! The short strands stand straight up, just like the grass I play in, and the long strands help the jute stand up. I can't believe I wasn't using this stuff before.

Here is an older thread that teaches you how to get ALL the rafia to stand up

:
http://www.airsoftsniperforum.com/phpBB/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?t=1182&start=0

 

[ronnokk]

Link isn't working