I machine-baste 'stay-stitching' along the edge of the quilt top (not the sandwich) if I have a pieced border. That keeps the pieces in place, locked, during the ordeal of the sandwiching and then the somewhat rough handling it gets when I have to stuff it all through my DSM to quilt it.

As a long-term quilter, I think it is necessary only when there are bias pieces on the quilt edge or when there is no border.

I do a large stitch around my quilts after I quilt it and BEFORE I trim the edges and sew the binding on. It just seems to keep the edges together and prevents them from getting messed up.

On my Handi Quilter I always baste around the quilt before quilting. That is because on the LA you do things differently than on the DSM.

On my DSM I will take a longer, wider zigzag stitch to baste around the quilt.

I baste the edge after it is quilted. This helps stabilize the edge when adding the binding.
peace

RE: I trim the edge twice. First down to about one inch so that when attaching the binding, the feeddog has some material to grab. After sewing the binding on I trim the one inch extra batting and backing down to the edge of the top which gives me the right amount of material to fill the binding when turned. I learned this tip right here on the QB:D.
peace

I started doing that a while back. I stitch around the whole quilt top and backing if it's pieced. I quilt on a longarm. It helps alot so seams don't come loose before it is quilted.

I top stitch around a quilt top prior to any sandwiching, using a regular size stitch. I also ,once it has been completely quilted, baste the outer perimeter of the sandwich about 1/8 inch from the edge.

I sandwich the quilt and go ahead and quilt it. At that point I check to see if the edges are straight and the corners good. Then I go around the entire top and zig zag. It makes binding so much easier. Then after I have the binding attached before I turn it over I press the binding, this helps me. It all takes time when I think about it, a few times the backing has flipped over and I have to rip it out, so time spent doing all of the above works for me and I am happy with my binding. Just how it works for me! I have mixed feelings at this point, am happy the quilt is done and done to my satisfaction, but then it hits me...now what do I do???

Before machine quilting I always baste my 3 layers together around the outside edge to prevent stretching while quilting. I also baste the outside edge of quilt top if there are bias edges to prevent stretching as well.

I baste the edge with the LA before starting to quilt. It helps keep the edges from moving and keeps the seams together.