the.com/muslin
The fabric so fine, mughals called it woven air and running water.
means A lightweight, loosely woven cotton fabric, ranging from sheer and delicate to coarse and sturdy, used for clothing, curtains, and kitchen straining.
from From the Italian 'mussolina', after Mosul (Arabic 'al-Mawsil'), the city in present-day Iraq through which European traders encountered the cloth — so the fabric carries a city's name, though the legendary featherlight muslins prized in Europe were actually woven in the Bengal region of South Asia, especially around Dhaka.
- origin name
- Named after Mosul, Iraq, a medieval trade hub
- woven air
- Dhaka muslin took fifteen yards to weigh ten grams
- colonial casualty
- Britain crushed Bengal's looms to sell its mills
- lost art
- True Dhaka muslin extinct for over a century
- baby duty
- Now mostly known as cheap cheesecloth and swaddles
dhaka muslin — fabric from dhaka, bengal (now bangladesh), prized for fineness from 1600s-1800s, also called 'muslin of mosul'
indian head muslin — plain weave cotton produced in new england mills, especially indian head brand in connecticut, 1800s onward
swiss muslin — embroidered muslin fabric made in switzerland and st. gallen region starting 1800s, highly valued