Cambell Purvis and Paula Kruijer go into a deep dive on the origin and manufacture of muslin fabric, particularly a type made in India that was so light, delicate, and transparent that it was likened to woven air. What happened to Dhaka muslin? Why was it banned? You can be sure that it was NOT for our own good. This beautiful fabric wasn't made in the usual way. Its manufacture involved 16 specific procedures, each one taking place in a different town around the area of Dhaka, India. The threads were so fine that they could only be handled by young women, who wove the fabric on boats, surrounded by water to take advantage of the humidity--an absolutely vital component of the entire process.
Natural fibers--cotton, linen, hemp, bamboo, and so on--are on the decline in general, and more expensive then synthetic fabrics if you do want to wear them. Linen sheets are the best things you can sleep on, but are beyond the price range of most of us. Nearly all natural fabrics have been replaced with plastic fabrics such as polyester and nylon. We are told constantly of the dangers of microplastics in our bodies and the environment, yet there is never any mention of the fact that we WEAR plastic every single day! Even babies and children are constantly wearing and sleeping on polyester. Spandex is added to polyester-cotton mixes to provide stretchability. Polyester became popular mainly for one reason: it doesn't need to be ironed. Women who spent a fair amount of time ironing the family's clothing found it a Godsend and soon abandoned cotton and linen in favor of the new miracle fabric, polyester. I feel that the price we are paying for convenience is a heavy one in terms of how it effects our health and the damage it does to the environment once all that discarded plastic ends up in the landfills.
Please watch the video and let me know what you think about this topic. I find it fascinating, and I don't remember seeing it discussed on these forums, although I could have just missed it at some point. The subject of fabric in the old world is, I think, an important one. In the old photos, we see men and women dressed in beautiful, tailored clothing in even the most ordinary surroundings. Old paintings show us magnificent gowns of extraordinary workmanship. Who was making all that fabric? Who was sewing it in a time when, we are told, no electric machinery existed? Are we to believe there were vast buildings filled with women hand-sewing everything from stockings and corsets to gowns and waistcoats? Or that the fabric to make these things for millions of men and women around the world was done by peasants on old wooden looms? I do not think that such scenarios make sense or ever happened.
