White cotton dress shirting from Michael's Fabrics

I just pulled out my white cotton dress shirting I bought from Michael's Fabrics (not the chain craft store!) during their big Memorial Day clearance sale ... this is the first time in over six months that I've fondled this particular fabric and I still am firmly convinced this is the finest shirting I have in possesion.  Despite only paying $5/yd for 60" wide shirting, this is the primo stuff.

I had to unfold and refold it, right side out to help me with the grainline.  On the right side, the grainline is easy to spot due to the weave: it's ribbed, but still a woven, with the ridges/ribs parallel to the selvage.  How easy will that be to line up the pattern pieces?

I'm still failing to photograph this fabric in all its glory ... yeah it solid white, but even with the Ott-light on it I still can't get the texture to show.  You'll need to take my word for it, because I don't have the mad photog skillz necessary to take a proper pic.

Trying to line up the body front piece, I noticed I was a smidge off when I taped it this morning.  I'll keep to the original grainline for the center front, and roll the dice because now that I've pulled this lovely out I am not inclined to set it to the side.

So - why did I wait this long to pull it out and decide to use it?  Simple, I did not have the skill necessary to do it justice when I bought it in the late spring.  I knew this when I placed the order ... but I also knew I would work harder if I had really good fabric on hand for it.  One necessary skill I didn;t have when I opened the box that first week of June: doing a proper FBA so any blouse I make from it will fit better than what I can buy at the store.  If I want to look like I am busting out (pun intended) of my blouse, I can get something off the clearance rack at some discount retail place or at the mall.  This fabric - and the others I managed to get - is destined for better than that.

While I'm on the subject - every fabric I bought from that sale exceeded even my grandiose dreams.  I have two more shirtings and three suitings (guess what I'll be working towards for 2011?) that are absolutely breath-taking to see and feel.  If Michael and Sherri run another clearance ... jump on it!  This last one was a feeding frenzy, and I only got half the fabrics I wanted because the others sold out.  One of the shirtings I got, I got the last of (and not as much as I asked for).  Just don't wait on me to announce it.  I won't say a word to anyone until I've placed my order and gotten confirmation of the fabrics I'd be getting.

Until then, I have these fabrics to work on.  I'll probably use fabric I may have paid more for to mock up the suit idea ... replacing this fabric would cost me $11 to $25 per yard for the same quality.