What is "muslin"?

Hi guys,
Can anyone tell me what "muslin" is in Australia?
Is it calico?
because I went to buy muslin and it doesn't look useful at all for a backdrop, not only would the light pass through, but the holes in it look big enough to let the actual flash pass through... (slight exaggeration).

Any help would be useful and appreciated.

Thanks in advance from an "Ausraelite".

It depends on the muslin backdrop you use. Think of it as cloth, if you buy a really thin sheet of cloth, it'll shine through. If you buy a thick sheet, it works fine. Muslin's basically a cotton fabric. Buying the expensive brands with good reputation makes a difference as their material doesn't wrinkle as much, and don't let light spill through it.

I bought really cheap muslin from amazon.com (cowboy studio brand) and they were ridiculously thin, with holes. Definitely not gonna use it.

It appears to be the same thing as everywhere else in the world. I don't think it is calico, as that is a much looser woven material. Muslin takes paint and dye well, which makes it ideal for backdrops.

Here is a website from down under:

http://www.theremnantw​arehouse.com.au …=com_virtuemart​&Itemid=37

Ron

Does this help? muslin background

Elija78 wrote in post #16041430
...Can anyone tell me what "muslin" is in Australia?
Is it calico?
because I went to buy muslin and it doesn't look useful at all for a backdrop, not only would the light pass through, but the holes in it look big enough to let the actual flash pass through... (slight exaggeration).

Any help would be useful and appreciated.

It's exactly the same as muslin bought anywhere else in the world.

Elija78 wrote in post #16041430
...Thanks in advance from an "Ausraelite".

What the hell is an "Ausraelite"

It does come in various tightness of weave, but it is generally a very loose weave cotton fabric. That is really all you're looking for: A fairly uniform light cotton fabric of suitable width. Synthetic fibers are likely to cause odder looking reflections and highlights, and other natural fibers generally cost far more than cheap old cotton.

Elija78 wrote in post #16041430
it doesn't look useful at all for a backdrop, not only would the light pass through...

You'll never find a fabric that is truly opaque, and it's not necessary. All that's necessary for a backdrop is that it reflects enough light to hide whatever is behind it.

Quality issues aside, the translucent nature of backdrop fabrics won't be an issue unless it's hung in front of a window with direct sunlight coming in.

TRADITIONALLY, muslin was also known as 'cheesecloth' and was used to sieve the whey out of fermented coagulated milk, leaving the curds for making cheese. However, like so many words the meaning has become distorted. If you go into a traditional haberdasher or cloth shop, you'll most likely get the very thin, very open weave stuff you've already encountered. Elsewhere, you could get just about anything. The essence is that the warp (lengthwise threads) and weft (crosswise threads) are of equal thickness.

CALICO, again traditionally, is a plain, unbleached cotton fabric which may contain cotton husks and/or 'slubs' (basically, lumps in the weave). It is usually quite a bit heavier/thicker than other common cloths. Similarly to muslin, warp and weft are equal thickness so there is no pattern to the cloth, just plain flat material. (The self-colour pattern you see in some formal shirts is created by the use of different thread thicknesses - it also accounts for the 'pattern in rip-stop nylon where a thicker thread occurs at regular intervals in both directions)

IF you are thinking of dying your background, then a cotton fabric is a good option as it absorbs the dye rather than it sitting on the surface as happens with man-made fibres. If painting, this is less important although usually cotton duck (aka light canvas) is used for this as it is more crease-resistant and you don't want your paint cracking off!

I've made a couple of 9ft wide backgrounds from calico (yes, it's available in 108" width) and there are a couple of points which you should be aware of if you go this route.

1. When you wash the calico prior to bleaching/dying/whatev​er it absorbs a LOT of water and becomes surprisingly heavy. Natural fibres typically absorb about 97% of their own weight in water. Don't try doing it in your domestic washing machine - it'll probably cost you a new machine!
   
2. When your large piece of calico is bleached/dyed/whatever and has been rinsed, DON'T tumble dry it completely. If you do, you will spend about 10 SOLID HOURS ironing the creases out before it's fit to use. I'll leave it to your imagination how I know this
   I would rate this ironing as the MOST BORING thing I have ever done - and I've had to do some pretty boring things in my life, believe me. It's also darned hard work!
   

Awesome.. thanks everyone!!

What the hell is an "Ausraelite"[/QUOTE]

Sorry, I was in a mood.. I'm an Aussie..

Hmmm.. how does one do that quote thing?

Elija78 wrote in post #16047752
Hmmm.. how does one do that quote thing?

You need an open and closed quote tag around the text. The open tag can also have something like =username;Postnumber as part of it to provide a link. Looks like you didn't include the opening quote and the end quote didn't get picked up because of it.

Just click the "quote" button on any post and see how it is formatted. Don't delete the parts in square brackets, as those are the important bits. Brackets themselves included in the important bits.

Elija78 wrote in post #16047752
Hmmm.. how does one do that quote thing?

Either click on the "Quote" button or just enclose whatever you want to quote in the

tags.

it doesnt seem to work!

 [QUOTE]  text that is quoated [/QUOTE] 

sigma pi wrote in post #16052349

Either click on the "Quote" button or just enclose whatever you want to quote in the

tags.

it doesnt seem to work!


crap I just broke everything.

No surprise there, Mike! LOL
Now, what would be surprising is if something did NOT break after you touched it! LOL