I am so [unprintable] that I first pin baste, using small curved safety pins with the snap-on plastic backs and a grapefruit spoon to lift the pin point, and then I baste with thread.
Someone once wrote that you need to be careful about using colored thread to baste a pale fabric, and I was able to prove them correct by having thread dye left when I pulled the basting stitches out. So much for using up my nearly-gone spools.