A lightweight cotton fabric in a plain weave, ranging from fine and sheer to coarse and heavy. Originally a fine, delicate fabric, muslin is now used for everything from clothing to cooking strainers and theatrical backdrops.
From Arabic mūṣilī, meaning 'of Mosul,' referring to the Iraqi city where this fine cotton fabric was first produced and traded. The word entered Italian as mussolina, then French as mousseline, reaching English as muslin by the 17th century. Mosul was a major textile center connecting Indian cotton with European markets.
Muslin was once so fine and valuable that it was called 'woven air' - the best varieties from Bengal were so sheer that an entire sari could be pulled through a finger ring! European attempts to replicate this quality led to major industrial innovations in textile manufacturing.
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