I usually use a lot of pins hooking the backing to the leader. Then I line up the batting & top onto the backing 1/2" to 1" below the leader (so that I don't sew into the leader & to avoid bumping the pins with the machine's foot). I pin the batting & backing about every 4" just to be sure the top & batting don't shift. This way I don't have too many pins to remove as I sew the top edge of quilt. It makes it nice to have that edge sewn before you start quilting so that the pressure foot does not bump into pins. I may play around & try it without the 4" apart pins sometime & see if that would work for me also. It would save time as long as the batting & top didn't shift.