I know that there are several posts on ghillies but I've tried the search engine and can't find what I'm looking for.
That said, there was a post on here a long time ago, maybe even a couple or three years ago, about home made ghillie suits. I think that Ed Ashby had made them out of cargo netting and camo/natural colored yarn. It seems simple enough but I was curious about how to go about it. How long should the yarn pieces be and how should I attach them? If anyone could help it would be greatly appreciated. If not I guess I'll just have to shoot from the hip and maybe we can turn it into a build along or something.
I bought a kit from Ghilliesuits.com.
It comes with netting that you cut and tie together to form the shape...like a coat. Then you just tie the yarn around the netting. You take like 3-4 pieces of yarn and tie them around the top strans of each square of netting (if that makes any sense?).
My son sewed some netting on a pullover and a radar cap and then just tied on bunches of jute. Looks pretty good...
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff187/GingivitisKahn/20101112_ac_d03.jpg)
It's not that tough - just time consuming.
I made my suit almost 20 years ago before there was any commercial demand for them. I read The Ultimate Sniper, then augmented that info with some word-of-mouth from buddies who went to sniper school in Fort Benning.
That suit was dedicated to prone/rifle shooting, with double reinforced knees/elbows and chest skids. It was an aviation one piece with a hammock/sand bag/hemp twine combo. The great thing about making your own is that you can make it for exactly what you want. IF I do another it will be for warm stalking deer with a bow.
Dollars for hours, it is likely "cheaper" to just buy one you find acceptable as-is.
Guru made one earlier this year with a step by step, there should be a thread to it on here.
I remeber the Ashby ghillie thread. He talked about different color combos, and length I think. Maybe someone can find it and bring it up for you. I have a semi- homemade one, using a Mirage leafy suit enhanced with the synthetis threads. I also have a Cheapy WalMart closeout one, and just got a RanchoSafari longcoat. Lots of pics to look at to maybe help you out if you go to their websites.
Guru's thread is in the How-To Forum. I made mine several years ago using a Leafy-Wear jacket as the base. I ordered the pre-dyed jute from Bush*****om, along with a piece of netting to use on my boonie hat head cover. I just cut some holes in the jacket and double knotted the jute, using several piecesper hole. To finish it, I added on some SneakyLeaf leaves. Just remember to keep trying it on, as you want to be able to draw and shoot with it on, or it defeats its' intended purpose. It me about 7 hours to complete. Do not wash it in a machine or you'll end up with a great big camo knot. Gently hand wash, then hang on a rack to dry, or outside on a calm day. Good luck and enjoy the project.
Thanks all. I did manage to find Curts post in the how to's, not real sure how I missed it with the search. It's a good build along and looks pretty simple as well.