I have a long arm...so that is how I do it now.....but if I had to pin bast a quilt now.....I have two of those 6 foot by 2 foot folding plastic tables....they were not too bad to buy, and I also bought two sets of plastic bed risers....so I would put up the two tables...for a small quilt...they could be side by side....for a larger quilt...they would be end to end....I would find the middle of the backing, batting, and top....then spread them out on the tables with the center marks of each layer lining up....I would them pin along that line....and keep pinning until I reached the edge of the table....then I would reposition and work my way down the sides....maybe not perfect....but would be the best I could do as my knees will not tolerate kneeling on them anymore.