You could use any cloth with a fine mesh.
No. Plain yogurt is a good substitute for sour cream. A substitute for ricotta cheese is cottage cheese that has been drained of excess water (use cheese cloth or seive).
You can substitute ricotta cheese for cottage cheese. I don't think it would work with cream cheese.
Lancashire Cheese
asiago or parmesan
White cloth filters are called cheese cloth.
A good substitute is Caerphilly Cheese from Wales which is a pale crumbly cheese made from cow's milk. It has a similar texture and taste to Lancashire Cheese.
Sure.
No not really.
You can substitute 1 cup Mascarpone cheese with 1 cup cream cheese beaten with 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream.
Muslin is more tightly woven than cheese cloth. One can hold up a piece of cheese cloth and easily see through it, while one cannot see through muslin.
A cheese cloth is sometimes referred to as a bonnet cloth in cooking. One can use this to wrap freshly made cheese and to strain the liquids when cooking.
If you mean "What is like cheese cloth" the answer would be muslin