I think most ladies here use binding. I practiced on a quilt for my kitty. I think (I'm a newbie too!) you just pin your three layers together (top, batting and backing) and start quilting from there. When you're finished quilting the top, you'll have all these rough, open edges which you close up with the binding. There's a lot of good tutorials on youtube, and/or if you can find some quilting books at your library. :)