So I cant really draw, I certainly don't paint and I have never tried my hand at making a fursuit. However, I can make a pretty decent ghillie suit.

When I was making my first ghillie I could not get enough pictures of ghillie suits: Ghillie suits in use, ghillie suits in progress, variations of suits, you name it. I wanted to find ideas and also pick up on tips and tricks. With that in mind, I figured somebody would appreciate or at the very least have interest in a pictorial ghillie suit guide. Also, if there is any interest, I will consider taking commissions for full ghillie suits or partial pieces.



To make a ghillie suit you will generally need a base layer (BDUs in this case), some sort of "ghillie" material such as burlap, jute, or canvas, and a way of attaching the material to the base layer. This can be achieved either by sewing or gluing the material directly to the base or by sewing some sort of netting to the base and then tying the material to it. I prefer the netting method.

At this point, the general pattern of my netting has been cut out for the trousers and I am beginning to sew it in place. The shape of the pattern is determined both by personal preference and utility. My original suite had a 360 degree pattern that covered almost every inch of the BDUs. This was very difficult and time consuming to do and the suit itself is very bulky and cumbersome. For this next suit I have opted to make a much skimpier pattern. This makes a much lighter easier to use suit and is generally the way actual military snipers set up their suits.

When starting out, first lay your netting over the clothing and visualize the general shape you want. Then, in the same manner you stitch on a button, sew the net onto the clothing in a few places just to hold it in position for the next few steps. Make sure you put the stitches at the knots of the net rather than in-between so it will not move around.

Now that your netting is partially secure, begin cutting. Do not try to cut it to its final dimensions immediately, you WILL mess up. First cut out an oversize block. Then stitch the net on in a few more places. Then cut some more. Repeat this until you have the final pattern. Add more stitches if necessary to ensure the netting is secure and wont droop.

Attaching the netting is the most time consuming part of the process. It should take a few weekends to do it nicely.

Here I have started with the pants. I suggest starting with the hat though. That hat is a simple little project that should only take a few hours. This should give you a good idea of what it takes to make a ghillie suit and help you decide if you want to commit to an entire suit or not. Also, the hat is fairly useful on its own, the other parts of the suit are generally useless when not combined.

So, I hope someone found this interesting or useful, if there seems to be interest I will ad more pictures as I complete this suit. Have fun hiding in the bushes!