You would be surprised at how "thin" or "bad quality" fabrics hold up. I was once given a set of cute, prestamped quilt blocks for embroidery . The fabric content on the package read "poly/cotton" . They were thin; not read the newspaper through thin, yet most quilters wouldn't have even tried it. But they were a gift from my dear in-laws and I know it would have offered my MIL if I hadn't made up the quilt. I made the embroidered blocks up, using fabric paint instead of hand embroidery, for my daughter's baby quilt. I quilted the whole thing with a simple meandering, about 1.5" apart. My daughter loves it and it's been washed so many times! Sometimes several times a month! (During bad sicknesses, several times a week.) It's holding up great. The fabric weave was thin, but no seams have come apart, no batting coming through, and no worn spots. I think quilting well is the key.
Now, as for Waverly fabrics from Wal-Mart, I do buy and use them, as it's cheap and 100% cotton. But, I have noticed that after a wash, once quilted up, the fabric attracts pilling. Is it just me? Iceblossom, do you have the same thing? Maybe it's because I have been using 100%polyester batting. I'm now using 80/20 Hobbs; it might make a difference. I don't know.