Muslin is a cotton fabric of plain weave. It is made in a wide range of weights from delicate sheers to coarse sheeting. It gets its name from the city of Mosul, Kurdistan, where it was first manufactured. In the 17th and 18th centuries Dacca in Bengal was regarded as producing the finest muslins.
Early muslin was handwoven of uncommonly delicate handspun yarn. It was imported from Bengal into Europe for much of the 17th and early 18th-centuries.