I tape my quilt back to the floor at the community center, lots of floor space there. I layer the batting and the top on. Next, I have a gadget that is meant to be used with a basting gun that I just slide under the quilt edge and then I pin into the spaces in the gadget. When I'm ready to quilt, I use an 18" or 24" hoop and start in the center of the quilt. I loosely fit the top part of the hoop over the quilt and bottom of the quilt hoop. Then I flip the hoop over and lightly tug the backing fabric until it's smooth within the hoop. Then I flip the hoop back over and lightly tug the quilt top until it's smooth and then tighten the screw. I start in the center. Next I keep moving the hoop out one hoop space to the left until I get to the edge of the quilt. I return to the center and move the hoop one hoop space to the right and continue in that manner until I get to the outside edge. For the second row I move my hoop up one hoop space from the center and then continue just as I did for the first row. Once I have the quilt on the hoop the way I want it, I remove all the safety pins within the space so they don't get in my way. I haven't had a pucker yet. I only make bed sized quilts. Good luck with yours!