classic monty python: And an excellent series (9parts) on the "ghillie suit": Rest are available on youtube
Loved the Monty Python skit! ( can't say what I am thinking about certain parties up north....!) I made my own ghillies, then discovered a drawback...crawling is a problem you deal with BEFORE you try to use the ghillie! I'll refer back to the videos! (NOTE: a "cape" style is not all that great!) I bought a couple that were poorly made and totally worthless. They were 3 piece outfits: pants, shirt, and head cover. Not cheap either. I'll go back and re-design mine! Besides, you HAVE to match the foilage colors correctly! (we collected samples in zip lock bags and used them here at home for color matching) Or it's like wearing hunter orange in the desert scrub ( with white snow grass)! I have to disagree with the guy about the dye and the use of nylon screen (or mosquito netting and mesh bags) I have dyed them easily...When all else fails: read the RIT DYE directions! BOILING water is the key, PLUS add a cup of salt and a tablespoon of liquid dish soap! ( per package of dye and do NOT mix the powder with the liquid if you want to have control of the colors!) Also, there is NO black in nature, and many Marine Corps. Snipers ( in training) were FLUNKED out, as they were seen! Black Boots and gloves! Not to mention, but they dropped their "bird's nests"! Scopes reflect badly! So far I have made several lots of dyed materials. I use the fish net from a Michael's art store, natural burlap from a cloth store, ( buy in bulk), much cheaper than bags! To match the proper greens I have up north, I use 1 dark green to 2 golden yellow, and it's perfect! For browns I use 1 dark brown and 1 gold or yellow and vary wetting times. ALWAYS, pre-soak/wet the materials you are going to use! Or they get real dark real fast and by the way, boiling dye is a serious nasty if you get it on you! I use a stainless steel pot and a stainless spoon and stainless tongs! I also have a roasting pan to catch the material as it comes out of the pot, and off the stove. Use diluted bleach to clean up anything...I stained the porcelain sink and it only took a couple minutes to clean up with hot water and bleach! Be prepared to rinse in cold water for awhile...it's WORK!
Fire retardant: Sodium silicate ( aka: waterglass) can be applied with the dye lot ( hot) or in the final rinsing ( cold). I noticed the guy is NOT using gloves or tongs...DON'T try that with boiling dye! Cold dyed material is not near as permanent or hardy as hot dyed materials. It will "bleed" a LOT! Besides, it makes your hands look very strange! Don't do this in your washing machine! If you want the material frayed more, just toss it in a 5 gal. bucket and use a ( new and clean!) toilet plunger to rough it up! Instead of all the hassles trying to de-string burlap, buy and use yarn! The burlap will fray alot once you remove the hem. The yarns can be bought in all colors, and even in camo green, and desert styles. We used a hair brush to give it more body/fluff. I have found that of all the camo materials and designs offered today, NOT ONE of them really matches the area up north where my land is. No leaves or wetlands or marshes in the high desert. Only dark reddish brown soils, white fluff ( snow grass) and juniper trees...which have 2 colors of green: the darker (forest) for older growth, and lighter ( yellow green) for the new growths. I am NOT about to try to match those smokey blue-grey berries that are actually bright green when they are brushed against!
I noted that a LOT of sewing is taking place...I don't know about you, but I hate doing that! There's some great material glues out there that are waterproof! He uses a lot of shoe goop which is ok, BUT, put waxed paper inside or you'll glue the suit together! In some cases we considerd making a "reversible" suit, BUT it was not only bulky, but hot and heavy as all get out! What "we" ended up with is, a 2 piece suit. The upper body with a "poncho style" neck/head cutout, then a hat with the remaining camo materials. You have to choose to have a suit for stalking or walking/crouching ( we call it the gorilla suit!), or, you have a suit that will allow you to actually crawl. That one's a bit more complicated and involved to make. NOTE: what your eyes see and what can be seen is 2 different things.....! We made everything and it LOOKED great, BUT, when we took photos with a digital camera, it shows that the infrared reflection of the colors we could not see....made the colors run from dark brown to black. There was NO black at all, just varied shades of greens and tans/browns. Interesting to say the least! I wonder what the animals can see? BTW before dyeing any natural burlaps especially bag material, pre-wash it to remove the oils! And all materials should be pre-wetted before any dyeing is done or you'll end up with streaks and spots...like tie dyed stuff! Experience is a sure fire teacher! I know, I made a LOT of bad mistakes the first few times around!
Dragonfly: Thanks for the firsthand input! Always best to learn from those that have experienced the process. I started re-reading Carlos Hathcocks "bio" ( ("Marine sniper: 93 kills")got me interested in fieldcraft (again)."Ghillies" always amazed me Kudos. ..
