Muslin is named for the city of Mosul, in Iraq, where is was first woven.The unusually fine cotton cloth was described by Marco Polo in The Travels, of 1298, and it is referred to by Petronius in the Satyricon (54CE).

Muslin became very popular in 18th Century France, when it was mainly woven and exported from Mughal Bengal. It is traditionally used in Britain as a wrapping for boiled suet puddings, such as Christmas pudding.