I used to have puckers in my backing too but on the last 2 quilts I spray basted and it worked :) No puckers this time!

Before I got my longarm, I would take my quilts down to my quilt group meeting. We would push four or six folding tables together and tape the backing down to the top of the table with blue painter's tape all around the outside edge. Then the batting and top were put on and pin basted lightly and everyone pitched in to baste the quilt from the center out. There were always a few members small and spry enough to actually get up on the tables to do the center. It went very fast and they do it still. The backs, because they are taped very taut, lay absolutely wrinkle free.

I make sure that the backing is very well pressed, sometimes with a bit of starch. This extra stiffness helps to keep the wrinkles away.

I'm a newbie quilter so grain of salt here! I don't starch or tape. I press if there are wrinkles. I lay the backing on the floor and smooth it a bit so it's lying in a natural way for the fabric -- I don't want it stretched out of its natural alignment, if that makes any sense. Then I lay the batting on top and smooth it out, again trying not to stretch. Then the top, same smoothing process.

Now I get down on the floor, crawl carefully to the center, and safety pin. I'll put maybe 10 pins in a 1-2 foot circle around the center. Next, I crawl on off, fold up a side or an end so I can get my hands under the whole thing, and start pinning my way out. I use a hand underneath to make sure everything is smooth before I pin. At this stage I'm usually pinning a foot or so apart. Then transfer to my worktable and put in extra pins or thread basting along/around each quilting line before I stitch it. On the worktable I can flip it over and examine if anything feels funny under there LOL .

It is hard to get the back perfectly smooth and pucker free if using a higher loft batting.

Here's how I baste: http://www.quiltingboard.com/tutoria...mq-t91013.html I've done queen/king size quilts over 10 feet wide using this method and spray basting (I quickly tired of doing all that stitching by hand). So far I haven't had one single wrinkle in my backing, and I'm FMQ without a long arm so my basted quilts get handled a LOT as I'm quilting them! For the really wide quilts I use 12 foot boards and 3 four foot tables pushed together end to end so it all lays flat as I'm spray basting.

I always starch and press both the backing and the quilt top before basting.

i always pre-wash my backings then when they are (almost) dry i take them out- iron them - using starch for a nice wrinkle free finish- then i thread baste instead of pinning- i've never had much luck with the pin method- besides find working around-then removing them a real pain. some people like the spray basting method too- but starting with a nice wrinkle free backing is key & the best way to achieve that is a good ironing with either starch or sizing (starch gives a crisper finish than sizing)