What Is Muslin?

How is muslin made?

Muslin is made by weaving cotton yarn in a plain weave, the simplest over-one, under-one interlacing, and then finishing the cloth to suit its grade. Christine Haynes, quoted by FIT’s Fashion History Timeline, describes it as cotton or a cotton blend, made in many weights from very fine and sheer to coarse and heavy.

What happens before and after the loom separates the grades:

• Finer qualities are smooth and evenly spun. Britannica notes they are given a soft finish and are bleached or piece-dyed, sometimes patterned in the loom or printed. Haynes adds that the higher qualities use combed, mercerised yarns.
• Coarser qualities use carded yarns (Haynes), often with irregular yarns and textures, and are generally finished with sizing, a starch-like stiffener (Britannica).

Historically the finest muslins were handwoven in India. According to Britannica, early Indian muslins were woven from extremely fine handspun yarns. Muslin was not only cotton, either: FIT notes that silk and wool muslins were used in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Where does muslin come from?

The name comes from Mosul, now in northern Iraq, but the finest historical muslins came from Bengal, especially Dhaka, now the capital of Bangladesh. The Victoria and Albert Museum describes Bengali muslins as prized since Roman times as the finest possible woven fabrics, and exported to both Europe and China.

The word

The Online Etymology Dictionary dates muslin in English to around 1600, from French mousseline and Italian mussolina, after the Italian name for Mosul. Sources disagree on what the original Mosul cloth was. Etymonline records Old French mosulin in the 13th century as a cloth of silk and gold; Tortora and Johnson’s Fairchild Books Dictionary of Textiles, quoted by FIT, says that in the Middle Ages the word meant heavy, coarse cotton fabrics made in Mosul. Britannica states that the material was first made in Mosul.

Muslin in Europe

Britannica says muslins were imported into Europe from India in the 17th century and were later manufactured in Scotland and England. Tortora and Johnson place the first European muslins in Paisley, Scotland, around 1700. FIT notes that cotton muslin was the height of fashion in the first quarter of the 19th century, even in winter, the period of Regency-era dress. A V&A length of fine Dhaka muslin from about 1855 shows the trade in action: the museum notes such cloth was made up into dresses and accessories in Britain, and worn in India by Indians and Europeans in hot weather.

Why does muslin mean different things in the UK and the US?

Muslin means different things because English and American usage split the plain cotton cloths differently: the plain, unbleached cloth called calico in England is called muslin in the United States. The Textile Research Centre in Leiden records both senses, and adds that in the US “calico” means a tightly woven, printed cotton instead. Etymonline dates the American sense of muslin as an everyday cotton for shirts and bedding to 1872.

The split explains a sewing term. FIT notes that tailors and designers use muslin for their toiles, or mock-ups, and that the toiles themselves are often simply called “muslins”. A pattern that says “make a muslin first” is asking for a test garment, not a sheer dress.

What are the properties of muslin?

Muslin’s properties depend on its grade: the finer qualities are, in Haynes’s words, lustrous, long-wearing, washable and soft to the touch, while coarse muslin is a sturdier, plainer cloth. Haynes lists the typical uses that follow from this:

• Lightweight muslin: summer dresses and blouses.
• Coarse muslin: sheets and pillowcases.
• Test garments: toiles for tailoring and dressmaking (FIT).

How is muslin graded or measured?

Muslin is graded by name and by the quality of its yarn: Britannica lists grades known as book, mull, swiss and sheeting. Historical Bengali trade used its own names: the V&A catalogues a length of fine Dhaka muslin as tanzeb (tanjeb) grade.

For modern cloth, the useful markers are the ones Haynes and Britannica describe:

• Yarn preparation: combed and mercerised yarns for higher qualities; carded yarns for coarser ones.
• Evenness: smooth, evenly spun yarn in fine muslin; often irregular yarns and textures in coarse muslin.
• Finish: a soft finish on fine grades; sizing on coarse grades.

How does muslin appear on a clothing label?

Muslin is a cloth name, not a fibre name, so under US law the label names the fibre instead, for example “100% cotton”. The FTC Textile Rules in 16 CFR Part 303, which cover cotton, silk and most other textiles, require:

• the generic names and percentages by weight of every fibre making up 5 per cent or more of the total fibre weight;
• fibres under 5 per cent grouped as “other fiber”, unless the fibre has a clearly established functional significance at that amount (the rule’s example is 4 per cent spandex);
• the name, or registered identification number (RN), of the manufacturer or another business marketing or handling the product;
• the country where the product was processed or manufactured.

A fibre trademark may appear on the label, but only next to the generic name and in type of equal size. If a garment sold as muslin shows a second fibre, it is a blend; Haynes’s definition allows for cotton blends, so read the percentages rather than the cloth name.

How do you tell good muslin from poor muslin?

Good fine muslin is smooth, evenly spun and softly finished, with a lustre in the higher qualities; cloth sold as fine that shows irregular yarns or relies on sizing for its body is a coarser grade. Checks you can make in the shop:

• Hold it to the light. Fine qualities are smooth and evenly spun (Britannica). Coarser varieties are often of irregular yarns and textures (Britannica), so thick and thin yarns point to a coarser grade.
• Crush a corner in your hand. Coarse muslin is generally finished with sizing (Britannica). If the cloth feels stiff and papery, part of its body is finish rather than fibre.
• Look for a slight sheen. Higher qualities use combed, mercerised yarns and are lustrous (Haynes).
• Read the fibre line. “100% cotton” is the traditional cloth. Silk and wool muslins were also made (FIT); a silk muslin’s label must say silk (16 CFR 303.6).
• Read the origin line. US labels must give the country of manufacture (16 CFR 303). A “Dhaka muslin” claim with another country on the label deserves a question.

For a toile, coarse unbleached muslin is the norm, and its irregularity is no fault there. The grade matters when the muslin is the finished garment.

How do you care for muslin?

Care for muslin by following the garment’s care label, which in the US is a legal instruction rather than a suggestion. Under the FTC Care Labeling Rule (16 CFR Part 423):

• most clothing must carry a permanent care label that stays legible for the product’s useful life;
• the label must give either a washing or a dry-cleaning instruction, and must warn against any step that would harm the garment;
• a washing instruction states hand or machine wash and a water temperature, unless hot water up to 145°F (about 63°C) would cause no harm;
• the maker or importer needs a reasonable basis for the instructions, such as reliable test evidence, current technical literature or past experience.

So treat the temperature on the label as information the maker had to support. On uncut yardage with no label, wash a test square before cutting.

Is muslin sustainable?

Muslin is not sustainable or unsustainable by name; its impact depends on how the cotton was grown and how the cloth was finished. A US fibre label must give the fibre, the business identity and the country of manufacture (16 CFR 303), but it does not have to say how the cotton was farmed. Look for separate, specific claims, such as organic cotton, and ask what backs them.

Finishing is a choice too. Britannica notes that finer muslins are bleached or piece-dyed; unbleached muslin skips that step.