I will be hand quilting on a board frame tomorrow and will take some pictures of the quilt we just put in. We use thumbtacks, lots of them.
First we size the quilt by tacking the top on the four boards. We use "horses" to hold the boards, but many used chairs for the four corners. We have 4 c-clamps to hold the boards stable. The side boards go under and the near and far boards go on top so you can roll as you go.
After the quilt is sized, take it off the boards. Remember which way it was laying as some quilts are not square and will not go in if they are turned or rotated.
Attach your backing with the good side down, away from the batting. Use plenty of tacks to get the backing taut so there will be no wrinkles when you quilt.
Lay your batting on top of the backing, smoothe it out to get rid of any bumps and tack it. You don't have to use as many tacks here, unless it feels like it wants to shift.
Then place your top back on and tack securely. You can use some of the under tacks here, take them out and repin them on the top layer. :lol: