Why Our Muslin Squares Get Softer With Every Wash
Our muslin squares are made with 100% cotton muslin, printed here in the UK — often through the same designer collaborations and fabric sourcing behind our signature scalloped bibs. They're generously sized for burping, swaddling, and everyday newborn mess, and unlike most fabrics, they don't wear thin with washing — they get noticeably softer. That combination of real provenance and a fabric that improves with age is what keeps parents reaching for the same few muslins on repeat.
Printed in the UK, often by the same hands as our bibs
Every Monica & Me muslin square is made with 100% cotton muslin, printed in the UK. For our special and exclusive prints, we usually work with a UK-based designer — the same approach we take with the fabrics behind our bibs, rather than sourcing prints off the shelf.
It's why you'll sometimes notice a muslin print that looks familiar — because it is. If a muslin's fabric matches one of our Liberty of London bibs, that print was printed in the UK exclusively for Monica & Me, from the same sourcing relationship. It's not a coincidence and it's not a lower-tier reprint — it's the same fabric story, just cut into a different shape for a different job.
Gets softer with every wash
Most fabrics wear out the more you wash them. Muslin cotton does the opposite. The more our muslin squares go through the wash, the softer they become — the weave relaxes and the cotton opens up, so a muslin that's been through fifty washes feels noticeably gentler against a baby's skin than one straight out of the packet.
That's not a workaround for a fabric that frays or bobbles with age — it's the actual point of muslin as a textile, and it's why we chose it. A newborn muslin isn't meant to stay pristine in a drawer. It's meant to be washed, used, and washed again, getting better at its job with every cycle. Whatever stage you're at with a muslin — brand new, or six months of daily use in — the wash is doing you a favour, not damaging the fabric.
Where a muslin square actually earns its keep
Muslin squares are one of the few newborn items that pull double and triple duty:
- Burping — draped over the shoulder, absorbent enough for the mess that follows a feed.
- Swaddling — lightweight and breathable, so it wraps without overheating a newborn.
- Everyday newborn mess — spit-up, dribble, a changing mat cover, a car seat shade — the jobs that come up a dozen times a day and need a fabric that's soft against skin and easy to throw straight in the wash.
Most parents end up keeping several in rotation, precisely because they're washed so often — which, as above, only improves them.
A few common questions
What are Monica & Me muslin squares made from?
100% cotton muslin, printed in the UK — often using the same UK-based designer prints and fabric sourcing as our signature scalloped bibs.
Do muslin squares get worse with washing?
No — the opposite. Muslin cotton softens with every wash, so the fabric actually improves with use rather than wearing out.
Ready to add a few to the wash rotation? Browse the Muslin Squares collection, or read more about the fabric story behind our prints in What Is Liberty of London Tana Lawn, and Why We Use It. Muslins also make an easy addition to a Liberty baby bib gift set for a baby shower or newborn gift.