It can work very well. I'm one of those who takes a micrometer with me when I am shopping for patch fabric. I've used WalMart blue stripe, and their tan stripe material in square bottom rifled barrels just fine. They sometimes have a much thicker material...sort of a "lite-canvas" that runs .018 or a little more..COMPRESSED measurement that works REAL well in a rifle I reserve for Table and Chunk shooting but results in a load that's too tight for casual offhand loading with a wood ramrod.
Lately, I've been shooting a lot with a Colerain "radius rifled" barrel ( we call that round-bottom rifled back home). To get a good seal, I'm using JoAnn Fabric 12 oz. denim with good results.
Whatever fabric you choose...wash it a couple of times in HOT water with NO fabric softener.