Make A Ghillie: Materials
First off, I'll list all the materials that will help make the ghillie suit. But you do NOT need all of the materials listed. These are just preferred or materials that work best for the money available. If you have any type of Army/Navy store close by, you may want to consider going there. They have everything listed below, and usually for very cheap.
If you do not want to fool around with all of these materials and want to buy it all in one place, take a look at these ghillie kits.
BDU (Battle Dress Uniform) or flight suit You'll need some type of base for the camouflage. This way it is strong and will be more resistant to wear and tear. I've found that a flight suit works best. Mostly because it is one-piece. And has a convenient zipper on the front for fast and easy dressing. But you can technically just use an old BDU or if you're really on a budget, jeans and a long-sleeve shirt (Not recommended, you can find BDU's at military surplus stores for very cheap). Make sure to get one 1 or 2 sizes too big for growing room if you're still growing and to allow extra clothing for cold climates. Flight suits can range anywhere from $20 to $50.
Shoe Goo This type of glue, originally made for repairing old shoes, is a very useful and important material when making a ghillie suit. It holds everything together. It's not too expensive, and it's water resistant. You can also sew everything together, but this can be very time-consuming. Some argue that the Shoe Goo has too strong of a scent. However, there are ways to overcome this and I'll go into more detail later. Amazon.com has Shoe Goo for about $7.00:
Scissors You will use these a lot when you make a ghillie suit, so don't forget them. You can also just use a razor blade.
Burlap This is probably one of the most important aspects of the ghillie. This is the camouflage part. But it is very cheap, so don't worry. You can find this stuff everywhere. Home Depot and Wal-Mart carry it. You can either buy rolls of burlap, or regular burlap sand bags. These are everywhere. Including Army/Navy surplus stores, where you can find burlap sand bags for as low as $.50 a bag.
Ski Mask This is for the headgear. You can technically use an old hat, or even cut out the hood from an old hoodie. Anything will work, but I prefer the ski mask. It seems to work best.
Netting You will need some type of netting. You can get this pretty much anywhere as well. It doesn't really matter what color or type because the burlap will go on top of this.
Canvas This isn't absolutely necessary, but it does come in handy when your crawling around on your belly a lot.
Dye This will be used for coloring your burlap natural colors. Olive drab greens, dark greens, browns, and tans work best.
That's pretty much it for the materials. But don't be afraid to vary them as needed depending on budget, location, and time available.
Now, let's move on to how to make a ghillie suit.
