Muslin
 

The last time I was at Joanns I noticed that it seemed like they didn't have any white cotton quilting fabric but they had a ton of white muslin next to all the cotton solids. Can anyone tell me the difference between muslin and cotton and if you can use muslin in place of cotton? I am going back to Joanns tomorrow and need 3 yards of solid white.

Thanks!

Muslin is cotton. It ranges from beige to white depending to whether it has been bleached. Some is thin and loosely woven, some is heavier and tightly woven. Many people use it for backings. It comes in a variety of widths. I have used it in my blocks as long as it has the same feel as the other fabrics I'm using.

I have used muslin as sashing before and it tuned out alright. Just check the quality and the feel of it. Some is lighter weight than others.

I use muslin a lot. here is an example of how I used it in a quilt top

muslin is a wonderful 'Quilting cotton' it washes up beautifully and just gets softer and softer with time- has been used for generations in quilting. there are a *confusing* amount of choices when it comes to muslins these days- some are very thin-loosely woven (work ok for foundations if pre-washed-since they shrink a lot-tightening up that loose weave) some are almost as heavy as a canvas...and everything in between. natural muslin is a light tan sometimes with 'slubs' in it- bleached is white. it is a basic- good for many, many uses fabric

Thanks everyone!

Thanks for asking Luckydiver17!

I just purchased more than enough yardage of muslin to make a mock up of a dress to make sure it fits me before i spend a lot on fabric. I was hoping i would be able to rip it apart and quilt with it after. It feels a lot like quilting cotton and it's bleached to a bright white.

Muslin varies a lot in quality. I purchase the cheapest at JoAnn's by the bolt and use it for making patterns for garment sewing and occasionally after I wash it several times so it has shrunken all it's going to shrink as foundation for crazy quilting. I would never put that quality of muslin to be visible in a quilt however. I have not checked JoAnn's for good quality muslin. They may have it but be very cautious. Good quality muslin, both bleached and unbleached, can certainly be used for quilting and has been for years. I really like Kona solids so if I could wait for an order to come (by buying on line if you don't have another fabric store option) that's the route I would go when looking for white fabric.

I love premium legacy muslin at joanns, I use it in my embroidery and quilts, very soft

I really like the premium Legacy muslin at Jo'anns too. I was very pleasantly surprised at how nice it is in comparison to some of the other muslin they carry.