I remember my aunt use to hang her backing on the outside clothesline and then the cotton batting and then the quilt top, all hung with the same clothespins. She would smooth and then roll the bottom of the sandwich on a two by four board up to the top about two thirds. She would then pin (I think) the board in place and baste, moving the board down as she went. I watched her many times but never paid too much attention to exactly how she did it as I was about 7 or 8 years old.