This is a clear explanation of Dhaka Muslin vs Regular Muslin. You may use muslin comforters or muslin baby clothes.
The word muslin evokes the image of a loosely woven cotton fabric. It’s soft, breathable, and absorbent. You can find them for a few dollars a yard. But then you come across a luxury fabric that costs thousands of dollars. It requires thousands of hours to make. How come two fabrics with the same name are so different?
As Muslin experts, we will explain the clear distinction between two different fabrics: Dhaka Muslin vs regular Muslin.
Keep reading.
One Name, Two Entirely Different Fabrics
They share the same name because European traders eventually applied muslin to the exceptionally fine cotton woven around Dhaka. But once Dhaka Muslin disappeared, the name remained attached to ordinary cotton muslin.
Muslin originated from the Bengal region. Bangladesh had always had a rich textile tradition with many different types of fabric. And locally cultivated cotton was one of the main materials for those textiles.
Cotton fabrics were woven throughout the region. But weavers near Dhaka used to make the finest luxury fabric. The spinners spun extraordinarily fine yarn by hand. Weavers wove some of the finest cotton fabrics with the yarn. The fine fabric was so majestic, it became famous in different parts of the world. It was known as Dhaka Muslin.
Due to colonial influence and trade rules, Dhaka Muslin was suppressed and eventually lost from history. But machine-made cotton muslin emerged, which you still use as your children’s burp cloth or swaddle.
When Dhaka Muslin was revived between 2020 and 2022, it now shares the name with a completely different fabric.
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Feature
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Dhaka Muslin
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Regular Muslin
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| Cotton |
Phuti Karpas (Gossypium arboreum var. neglecta), grown within 40 km of Dhaka
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Regular cotton, used commercially. |
| Spinning | Hand-spun | Machine-spun |
| Weaving | Hand-woven on a pit loom | Machine-woven in a power loom |
| Fibre fineness | Under 10 microns | regular cotton, usually more coarse |
| Yarn fineness |
Hand-spun 500–750 Nm; finished fabric yarn average 400–600 Nm
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50 to 100 Nm |
| Fabric density | High |
Typically 60–80 threads per inch
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| Time to make |
800–2,000 hours
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Produced in bulk by the machine |
| Legal status | GI Certification No. 39 (Bangladesh, 2021) | Generic fabric name |
| Typical use | shawls, scarves, Saree | Baby cloths, swaddles, blankets, cheesecloth, backdrops, cloths, sewing projects |
The Three Tests That Define Dhaka Muslin
In the history of textiles, Dhaka Muslin is a fabric that contains one of the most (if not the most) amounts of human labor. A Dhaka Muslin saree can take 2000 hours and 16 steps of meticulous craftsmanship. Here are the three defining traits of the fabric.
The Cotton Must Be Phuti Karpas
Dhaka muslin must be made with traditional Phuti Karapas cotton plant. It’s a special breed of cotton that grows within 40 kilometers of Dhaka. It allows us to spin the finest yarn. Weaver weaves the masterpiece Dhaka Muslin fabric with the yarn.
The Yarn Must Be Hand Spun
The yarn used to weave Dhaka Muslin is hand spun by spinners with generational skills. As the yarns are super fine, it easily breaks without absolute attention. The yarn goes through several steps to prepare for weaving.
The Cloth Must Be Woven on a Pit Loom
The Muslin cloth must be hand woven on a traditional pit loom. It is the same traditional loom where other handmade cotton fabrics are made. Dhaka muslin needs almost invisible yarn, producing a few inches can take a whole day.
It is not about the technical issue. Making absolute beauty with the finest yarn itself is a wonder. That’s why collectors love dhakai muslin as an art.
Thread Count: The Confusion, Settled
The phrase “thread count” & “Yarn count“ is widely used to describe measurements of muslin. Both words feel similar, creating confusion for general people.
The word thread count is used to indicate how densely a fabric is woven. Yarn count is the right word to show how fine the yarn is. Let’s settle it completely.
While thread count is used for fabric density, it is simply thread count per inch. That is how many warp yarns x weft yarns in one square inch.
When we mean Yarn fineness, it is simply yarn count, never thread count. Simple.
Metric count (Nm) measures the fineness of the yarn. If a fabric is 100 Nm, one gram of the yarn will travel 100 meters. The higher the Nm, the finer the yarn. Metric count (Nm) is one type of yarn count that measures yarn fineness.
And the second metric is threads per inch or simply thread count. It measures how many warp or weft yarns are in one square inch of a fabric. This indicates how densely the fabric is woven.
So, Yarn count itself is about the yarn fineness, while thread count is about the fabric density aka thread count per inch.
BBC Future & others reported that the finest historical Dhaka muslin could reach 800-1200 thread count. The issue created from the wrong word Thread count, it should be Yarn count.
It is not about thread count per inch, the fabric density. It is all about the Yarn count, the yarn fineness. Dhaka muslin yarn is so fine that it reaches 800 to 1200 Yarn count or Nm for the finest Muslin fabric historically.
Please see how we measure yarn count.
There is so much misinformation on the internet about it. We simply break it down as the producer of dhaka muslin fabric. Today, team Muslin Dhaka hand-spins muslin yarn at 500 to 750 nm. Warp and weft yarn in finished fabric are between 400 and 600 Nm according to our own production data.
(Note – Yarn count varies a bit in cones as it is handwoven. We use stronger yarn in the warp. It must be strong enough to withstand the tension on the loom. We never use below 350 Nm in our warp. After finishing, dhaka muslin cloth is typically 400 to 600 Yarn count on average. Though we reach 500-750 Nm yarn count while spinning.)
Fabric density Dhaka Muslin Vs Regular Muslin
We debunk the myth & misconception about dhakai muslin thread count here for the last time. Even dhaka muslin fabric density is not possible with the pit looms at this massive scale of 800 to 1200 thread count.
The historical figure 800 to 1200 is the extreme fineness of Yarn. It is all about Yarn fineness, aka Yarn count only.
On the other hand, regular muslin is a plain-woven cotton cloth, aka muslin. It is machine-woven. Muslin fabric is produced on a large scale in China, India, and Bangladesh. Commercial-grade muslin fabric has a thread count of 60 to 80 per inch. Its yarn count is also 50 to 100 Nm.
However, those thread counts are not useful for general fabrics like your bedsheet. Those fabrics use totally different measurements.
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Measurement
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What it measures
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Threads per inch
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Fabric density |
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Yarn Count Metric count (Nm)
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Yarn fineness (Nm 500 = 500 m weighs 1 g) |
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Micron
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Fibre diameter ( 1 million micron per meter) |
What Regular Muslin Actually Is?
Regular muslin is plain-woven cotton fabric. The yarn is machine-spun, the fabric is machine-woven, & produced at large scale. Regular muslin is affordable and functional. It is valued for breathability, softness, absorbent nature, and versatility.
Regular muslin is very skin-friendly and comfortable. It’s easy to wash and gets softer each time. It makes one of the best materials for baby clothes and accessories such as swaddles and washcloths. It’s also used for cheesecloth, backdrops, and sewing projects.
Also, muslin is not a single fabric; there are different categories. Gauze is the loosest and most common type of muslin fabric. Mull or mulmul is softer and lighter muslin, different from Dhaka muslin. Swiss muslin is finer and crisper. Theatrical or sheeting muslins are heaviest and used for backdrops and sewing practice.
How to Tell Them Apart in Your Hands
Dhaka muslin vs regular Muslin are so different that you don’t have any problem identifying different fabrics. One is ultra-luxury, and the other is regular, affordable fabric. The experience is totally different.
With a bit of knowledge, you can easily identify regular muslin. But as an inexperienced person, it is hard to identify dhaka muslin or other fine cotton fabric.
Identifying regular muslin is straightforward. If you look closely, you will see there are yarns passing each other one after another. The yarns are generally more loosely woven than other fabrics. It will be soft and come with a uniform texture, as most regular muslins are machine-woven.
It’s very unlikely that you will come across a dhaka muslin randomly online or in a market. You can experience it either from the government’s revival project or team Muslin Dhaka.
If you hold an authentic Dhaka muslin in your hands, you will feel the fabric is almost weightless. It will have a beautiful sheerness and smooth texture. Upon closer inspection, you will notice the fine yarn woven masterfully. You may also notice small inconsistencies, which are the trace of pure human labor. Finally, the divine experience you get from dhaka muslin once, no need for any training to differentiate from others.
FAQ
Here are some of the frequently asked questions about Dhaka Muslin vs regular Muslin.
What Makes Dhaka Muslin So Special?
The sheer amount of human labor, generational skill that takes years to master, and the long time to produce the fabric are the core reasons for the specialty. The result is an extremely fine, weightless, transparent textile with divine beauty.
What Is the Yarn Count of Dhaka Muslin?
Hand-spun Dhaka Muslin Yarn is 500 to 750 Nm, which means one gram of that yarn can cross 500 to 750 meters. Historically, the highest quality of Dhaka muslin was 800 to 1200 Nm. Metric count (Nm) is one type of thread count that measures yarn fineness.
Why Is Dhaka Muslin So Expensive?
Dhaka Muslin requires 16 steps, 20 artisans, and up to 2000 hours to produce. Its value also carries its artistic essence and historical significance.
Can You Still Buy Authentic Dhaka Muslin?
Yes, dhaka muslin is available today, although it remains extremely rare. After the successful revival between 2020 and 2022, authentic Dhaka muslins are available in the market by the muslin Dhaka brand.
Final Thoughts
Dhaka muslin and regular muslin share the same name, but they are not the same fabric. Regular muslin is made on a machine with regular cotton fiber for functional uses.
On the other hand, Dhaka Muslin is a handmade fabric made with phuti karpas and traditional hand weaving techniques. It requires 16 steps, 20 artisans, and over a thousand hours to complete.
When we talk Dhaka muslin vs regular muslin, thread count is often misused. There are metrics: one thread per inch and yarn count. They measure different characteristics of the fabric and should never be compared directly.
Regular muslin is not inferior. It has its own purposes and functions. But Dhaka Muslin should not be confused with the regular ones. It is the most luxurious fashion & art.
Check out the Muslin collections.
