Kilt Breeks/Breeches? Anyone recall this

[MacKenzie]

In the UK, muslin is very thin and is generally used to filter off liquid e.g. in cheese or jelly making. I think what you describe we might call "calico".

Interesting. In the US "calico" is a simple cotton fabric, but with an all-over print. And what we use for straining in the kitchen we call cheesecloth.

That sometimes know-it-all Wikipedia says:

In the UK, Australia and New Zealand:

Calico—simple, cheap equal weft and warp plain weave fabric in white, cream or unbleached cotton.
Muslin—a very fine, light plain weave cotton fabric.
Muslin gauze—muslin.
Gauze—extremely soft and fine cotton fabric with a very open plain weave.
Cheesecloth—gauze.


In the US:

Calico—cotton fabric with a small, all-over floral print
Muslin—simple, cheap equal weft and warp plain weave fabric in white, cream or unbleached cotton and/or a very fine, light plain weave cotton fabric (sometimes called muslin gauze).
Muslin gauze—the very lightest, most open weave of muslin.
Gauze—any very light fabric, generally with a plain weave
Cheesecloth—extremely soft and fine cotton fabric with a very open plain weave.

Printed calico was imported into the United States from Lancashire in the 1780s, and here a linguistic separation occurred, while Europe maintained the word calico for the fabric, in the States it was used to refer to the printed design.