winia

I use a hoop and start in the middle and work my way out. I would suggest instead of using pins, baste your
quilt sandwich together. I have done it both ways, and
I've settled on the basting. The pins always got in my way,
and I had to move them or my thread caught on them.
Basting for me has worked out better, and the back does
not get all messed up, especially since I use a hoop.

sarahrachel

Maybe I've just been lucky, but I pin baste and start somewhere near the middle and work my way to the borders, doing them last. And for me, I found using too many pins makes more wrinkles. so I don't have a lot of pins, but enough in mine

thimblebug6000

I use masking tape to keep the backing straight on the floor, then the batting then the top & hand baste halves then diagonals, then approx a fist width away from each other, takes time, but well worth the effort.

Rose L

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!