How to Make a Sniper Ghillie Suit

Swiss snipers in ghillie suits

The sniper ghillie suit was adapted from an outfit that was worn by Scottish gamekeepers by the British army for sniper duty in World War I. It is a bodysuit or body netting covered in strips of cloth and twine, fashioned to resemble heavy foliage. This kind of heavy-duty camouflage is standard for snipers and has become popular with paintballers, nature watchers and hunters.

Things You'll Need

• One-piece jumpsuit
• Nylon string or fishing line
• Needle and thread
• Colored twine or strips of cloth
• Hat or hood

Instructions

1. Buy a one-piece jumpsuit. An olive drab mechanic jumpsuit or surplus Air Force flight suit is ideal. If you select a one-piece outfit that has a bad base color for camouflage (like navy blue), you will need to first bleach and then dye it. Jumpsuits are best because they give the maximum surface area, but even a jacket or over-alls could be adapted to fit this purpose.

2. Make sets of netting for the suit. Tie a tough cord like fishing line or nylon string into sets of squares or rectangles, and then tie these together into groups. The least complicated way to do this is to make several small nets rather than one big netting for the entire suit. There are no hard and fast rules regarding this: The netting pattern and amount of material used must be adapted to fit your choice of jumpsuit, its size and where and how much camouflage material you choose to attach in step 4.

3. Sew the netting onto the outside of the suit.

4. 

   Attach clusters of suitably colored twine or strips of cloth to the netting by tying them on, using ordinary knots. You should consider putting more of the clusters on the back of the suit since you will probably be crawling or lying on the ground a lot, and your back will be the most exposed surface.

5. Repeat steps 1 through 3 to acquire and make a hat for the ghillie suit. A bush hat would be the best choice, since it provides a surface that covers the ears. Hoods are also good. Once again, how much netting and material you tie on depend on the choice of hat and desired level of camouflage.

6. Get the suit dirty. Roll through a mud puddle in it, or drag it down a dirt road behind your car. The dirtier it is, the more natural it looks, and the better it is.

7. Tie on twigs and/or pin on leaves or moss to the suit before each use. Materials like these add the extra touch of camouflage, but wear out quickly. They will need to be reapplied whenever you use your ghillie suit.

Tips & Warnings

• Unless it becomes terribly smelly, do not wash your jumpsuit. The stench will conceal your smell from animals, so the dirtier the suit is, the better it hides you.