Muslin is very much like cotton, though you can get very fine, sheer muslin and coarse muslin. The weave is more open than cotton. The muslin I'm most familiar with is very thin and light. It wrinkles easily but is also easy to wash. It will definitely stain if you spill tea on it. It's not itchy unless you get a very coarse weave. It's not fuzzy like cotton - it's a flat weave, more like linen - you can see the actual texture of the weave.
Ancient muslin, first made in India, was very fine, gossamer, and sheer, and used for saris and the like. It has an interesting history. If it's going to be made into a wedding dress, there will have to be layers so as not to expose anything, heh. It takes a crease really well with an iron, and holds its shape if starched a bit, but it's a very light, floaty fabric.
For a wedding dress, your bride would probably get a finer weave (think of high-thread-count sheets). Up close, you would still see the weave, but far away it would look smooth.
I have a bit of medium-quality muslin here at my desk, so I'll try to describe how it feels: It has a matte finish, not silky or satiny, but very soft. It feels very light and cool against the skin. If it's not starched, and especially if it's light-and-gauzy for a dress, it would bend and move easily, but will wrinkle pretty easily, too. It's also pretty absorbent, so anything spilled on it would stain. Cotton/muslin is also pretty sturdy - it can be pulled on with a fairly good amount of force without tearing (although it *could* tear, if that helps the story, but I just tried with my scrap piece, and it took a pretty good tug)
The main uses I know for muslin, esp. strong / coarse varieties, is plastic-free diapers and straining large amounts, like when you are making a big pot of soup from scratch. I would describe muslin as soft, strong, stringy when wet, structured, comfy. I would not consider it classy, festive or anything of that kind. Hope that helps.
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Ancient muslin, first made in India, was very fine, gossamer, and sheer, and used for saris and the like. It has an interesting history. If it's going to be made into a wedding dress, there will have to be layers so as not to expose anything, heh. It takes a crease really well with an iron, and holds its shape if starched a bit, but it's a very light, floaty fabric.
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For a wedding dress, your bride would probably get a finer weave (think of high-thread-count sheets). Up close, you would still see the weave, but far away it would look smooth.
I have a bit of medium-quality muslin here at my desk, so I'll try to describe how it feels: It has a matte finish, not silky or satiny, but very soft. It feels very light and cool against the skin. If it's not starched, and especially if it's light-and-gauzy for a dress, it would bend and move easily, but will wrinkle pretty easily, too. It's also pretty absorbent, so anything spilled on it would stain. Cotton/muslin is also pretty sturdy - it can be pulled on with a fairly good amount of force without tearing (although it *could* tear, if that helps the story, but I just tried with my scrap piece, and it took a pretty good tug)
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I've got quite a bit of useful information here and on Facebook, so it's really helpful!
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I would describe muslin as soft, strong, stringy when wet, structured, comfy. I would not consider it classy, festive or anything of that kind. Hope that helps.
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