I have had several requests for information regarding the muslin I
mentioned in my post about waxed muslin.
Go to any yardage store, the discount ones or whatever. Ask for unbleached
muslin. It is off white to light tan (ecru) in color and may have tiny
darker spots in it which are the normal colors of raw cotton. It has a
slightly rough feel, not slick like percale. It has a lot of sizing in it
so it has to be washed in hot water at least once, if you have an older,
slow agitating washer you might want to run it through twice. Dry it
WITHOUT the softener sheets. It will shrink a lot so wash the entire
piece before you cut it to the size you will want the finished piece to
be. Hem it if you wish, however it does not ravel very easily (because of
the slight randomness of the thread size).
It is very absorbent so makes great dish towels, takes fabric paint
beautifully if you want to decorate them.
To line baskets, use a double thickness. Lay the cloth flat on a counter
and rub flour into it well, you can even use a stiff brush to work the
flour into the weave. Then line your baskets. After you remove the
dough, take the cloths outside and shake them gently, fold, place in a
large or Jumbo Zip-Loc bag and store in the freezer - this keeps the
little creepie-crawlers from moving in.
You can also make a "quilt" of 4 or 5 thicknesses, stitched together. Flour
this on one side as above. For putting French or Italian loaves to rise I
put one end against the splash plate at the back of my counter so it is
turned up a couple of inches. I place a baguette crosswise, I then place
a second one crosswise with about a 6 -7 inch space, then push the new one
toward the first so the cloth between is forced up into a divider, I repeat
again, - my counter will hold 3 large baguettes, or 4 long skinny ones.
I usually buy 10 yards of muslin at a time because I use a lot for making
jelly bags, cheese molds for straining fresh cheeses.
After use I launder these twice, first with detergent and put them through
again the just a cup or so of bleach in the wash water.
--
Andie Paysinger & the PENDRAGON Basenjis,Teafer,Cheesy,Singer & Player
asenji@earthlink.net So. Calif. USA "In the face of adversity, be
patient, in the face of a basenji, be prudent, be canny, be on your
guard!"
http://home.earthlink.net/~asenji/