Dear Susan, muslin ETYMOLOGY: From French mousseline, from Italian mussolina, from Mussolo (Mosul, Iraq) which was known for this fabric. Earliest documented use: 1609.
It just so happens that I am currently reading the original writings of Marco Polo which have been annotated in the 1890s. Polo himself mentions in quite some detail the manufacture of muslin in the city if Mausul (later Mosul) Iraq, and that was in the year 1295!!! The annotator did say that the fabric was much coarser then than it later became.
Other towns in that region at that time were noted for their magnificent silk which they then quilted and patch-worked into diamond motifs for the sleeves of nobility across Europe including England!!!
Seems to me there was far more trade going on between India and England than has long been recognised!!!
Interesting David in Ballarat
NOTES: Earlier sheer muslin was used for women's dresses and as a result, the word muslin was used collectively for women. Today muslin is mostly used for curtains, sheets, tablecloths, etc. USAGE: "What goes on in Brussels is glimpsed through a veil of muslin. Late night wheeler-dealing is not always recorded." Stephen Glover; Let's Send More Reporters to Brussels; The Independent (London, UK); Nov 2, 2009. Explore "muslin" in the Visual Thesaurus. - To unsubscribe send email to [email protected] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [email protected]. For help, write to [email protected]. Photo site: http://community.webshots.com/user/arachne2003
- To unsubscribe send email to [email protected] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [email protected]. For help, write to [email protected]. Photo site: http://community.webshots.com/user/arachne2003
