Can I piece the back, too?
 

I've moved on to the back of the T-shirt quilt. I bought some blue oxford shirts to use for the back, and I wan to make a simple pieced back, maybe using some blocks/squares of hawaiian shirts, too. Is there any reason not to do this? I've read things about not doing certain things as it makes it hard for long arm quilters. IO'm going to do this one myself using my trusty walking foot. Thanks for your advice and experience.

I always, always piece my back with fabric from the front! My girlfriend calls it "the surprise".

I piece my backs with fabric scraps all the time. Shirts sound nice. Just make sure those seams aren't too bulky. I wouldn't use cuffs, collars, sleeves, etc.

I also almost always piece the backs of my quilts. I like to use leftover fabric from the front both for added design interest as well as providing fabric for future repairs to the front if needed. T-shirt quilts can be thicker and heavier than normal quilts especially if you used stabilizer, so if you are really worried about it, why don't you make a small 'sample quilt' of a couple of squares of similar fabrics (front and back) with batting sandwiched in and do sample quilting stitching on it to see if you have any issues.

I like to piece the backs of quilts and find it satisfactory. I think you have to be a bit careful in planning the seams so that you don't get areas of seams that stack up and become hard to work with. Just have fun with it.

Why not piece a quilt back, too? I often use leftover fabric from the front to make a strip that goes vertically or horizontally on the back. It often saves on the amount of fabric I have to purchase for the backing. Plus, it adds a little bit of a surprise element. If you get right down to it, a pieced back could result in a reversible quilt -- two for the price of one, as they say.

i piece my backs most of the time

I made a T shirt quilt for my husband. The front is t shirt backs and the back is t shirt fronts. It was a birthday present and piecing the back was really fun.

I always piece my backs. I save leftover pieces, extra blocks, etc from the front and incorporate them into the back. My backs are usually more creative...perhaps because I am so ready to finish the quilt! I never use a kit so I always have leftovers bits and pieces. It's a great way to get rid of scraps! I have a mid arm so I do my own quilting. I've never worried about seams when piecing fronts/backs. Never had a problem either.

mengler, love your quilt, just wish I would have seen this before I made a graduation quilt last year. Both sides look very nice.