Polished cotton, in my experience, does not stay polished. Once it is washed, all the "polishness" washes out too. You might want to try a tricot lame. Lame stays shiny, and the tricot backing prevents the machine needle from creating snags. Tricot lame is pricey and hard to find, though. I would go to JoAnn's and look for a synthetic fabric that would work.