Price and location of purchase is no guarantee of quality. You should look for fabric that you can't see through, without a loose weave and that has a good feel to it.

Def. do not judge by price as a firm rule. I have bought from all various places. Just recently bought 3 diff. 1 yd pieces from my LQS that I dearly love & shop there quite often, but ea.of these pcs cost me over $10 a yard. All 3 bled like crazy. I thought I would never get them treated where they would not run & bleed anymore. It shocked me. I have bought fabric @ Jo Anns and yes, WalMart & they did not bleed. So it is a case that you never know & cannot judge by price. They all felt wonderful. Some from the big box store has felt like cheesecloth. Some not. You will be able to tell by the feel soon.

For my very first quilt, I went to Goodwill and bought plaid men's shirts, at first I removed the labels, but later decided they were part of the shirt (some are quite lovely). We did a summer porch (half-squares). Although it still needs a border. My quilt buddies really like the labels on some of them. While others concerned themselves with block placement, my eyes were having trouble keeping the plaids straight, I just decided to start sewing the blocks together -- it looks pretty good. Will post a photo as soon as this WIP is complete.

Just my .02, but maybe it will help. I've sorta figured out which fabrics to buy by brand. Walmart has their own brand - cheap price, cheap fabric, usually 2.44 or less per yard. They also carry AE Nathan - low to mediocre fabric, usually 2.44/yd; Cranston VIP - mediocre, but better than AE Nathan, usually priced at 4.44/yd; Fabric Traditions - better than AE Nathan and VIP - usually priced at 3.44/yd.
Joann's varies quite a bit, but most name brand fabric is safe. The VIP fabric varies there and I've even started asking them to tear a piece for me because it is off grain more than not off grain, especially prints with squares. Last time I asked them to do that, it was almost 2" off grain. I'm tired of getting it home and find it wayyyy off grain. Besides, it's 75 miles to the nearest JoAnn's for me. Hancock - main fabric is Absolute Cotton and it varies a lot in quality, but it's on the mediocre to ok range. The novelty cottons tend to be slightly better and they carry a few name brand fabrics that are rarely on sale, but at least decent quality. Quilt shops - I trust their fabric. Mary Jo's in Gastonia NC is totally trustworthy and they carry mostly name brand fabrics, but not the same ones as the quilt shops. OK...that's my .02. I can't afford $8-10/yd so I have to be thrifty but I hate it when I get the fabric home and it's off grain and/or thin - arghhh.

Ok, this brings up something I have been wondering abt. for a while. Wouldn't shirting be polyester/cotton blend? What about using fabrics other than cotton? I have a huge fabric stash of other fabrics, since I've been sewing for years. Being really involved with quilting and not sewing for little grandkids any more, I would like to use up this stash on quilts. There are a lot of knits & flannels (which I know are okay), and poly/cotton blends.

What was the brand of these fabrics? I'd like to not make the same mistake!
And good brands don't always mean good fabric. I washed a fat quarter of Moda (Christmas fabric) and it shrunk 2 inches!! I was shocked. But the other Moda lines don't shrink, so I think it was just because it was a holiday line. I don't know why that would make a difference, tho. You'd think the company would want to have a good name with all their fabrics. :shock:

I have found that most shirts have labels in them regarding contents. I only purchase 100% cotton and some of them are beautiful plaids. I also purchased some with orange/black/brown/and greens for a jack-o-lantern quilt I hope to make someday. It and a spider web quilt made from plaid strips are the reasons I joined a quilt guild and began this addiction. The men's shirts at my Goodwill are $2.50 and if you look for L, XL, and XXL. You can get considerably more than a yard of fabric, and a good selection of buttons from just one shirt. I usually take them apart while I watch TV.

My main problem is I usually find several shirts I would like to keep to wear around the house or while gardening. But that is becoming to be less of a problem as I dismantle more and more shirts. Happy hunting and enjoy all available resources.

Some of the fabrics that are lower priced in JAF or Walmart have been slightly 'mis-printed' or the color is a bi

Oops - hit the wrong button!
Anyway, as I was saying, the color may be a bit off from what the designer had intended , so it is not sold as first quality in quilt shops. The wearability won't be affected in that case, so you have to decide whether you like it or not. As others said, you can generally feel a lower quality weave.

Does it feel soft to the touch? When I started quilting, I went by sight alone! (I like it. I want some.) That was all I knew. I go through some of the older stuff now, and wonder "What was I thinking???"