I made a log cabin quilt for my husband with shirting plaids and stripes as the lights and civil war repros for the darks. During the time that I was piecing the quilt my FIL passed away. So I used some of his shirts to finish the blocks and for the 10 inch blocks that I used for the backing. It's my favorite quilt.
I didn't back the lights with anything special, but some of the shirts that I've seen in the store over the past year or two look thinner than what I used.