Originally Posted by kluedesigns

ok, i'm a bit nutty when it comes to this stuff, i'll give it to you in order of steps

i like to mark my quilt top with my quilting pattern before i pin the sandwich this way i can keep the quilting areas free of pins

1) lay backing fabric down on floor and smooth it out
2) tape down the top 2 corners and the center of the top with painters tape
3) smooth your way down and tape the sides
3) smooth your way down and tape off the bottom
4) you should have 3 pieces of tape on each side
5) repeat all of the above steps with the batting which i tape to the backing fabric
6) repeat all of the above steps with the top which i tape to the backing fabric also
7) i roll a marble underneath all the layers of the quilt sandwich.
8) the marble brings up a small section of the quilt just a slight bit from the floor and you're able to use quilt pins with ease. the pins just go in like a hot knife thru butter.
9) i choose a side and work from the bottom to the top and pin. when that section is done i move to the next one and work from the top to the bottom.
10) i use a lot of pins because the marble makes fast work of the pinning process but i try to avoid the pre-marked quilt lines.