A light-weight and loosely woven fabric with linen-style weave but mainly made of cotton or wool.

Sewers speak of making ‘a muslin’ when they use a plain fabric to make a mock-up version of a pattern they want to try, as a kind of sample before they cut out and sew a final version in fashion fabric. The muslin is used to identify fitting issues and to make adjustments which the sewer then incorporates into their paper pattern. In some countries/languages ‘a muslin’ is referred to as ‘a toile’.