my mom has had the same hairstyle since she was a girl. every night she pins it up with bobby pins and then wraps a headrag over it, ties it up (think Mammy in gone with the wind) and goes to bed. every single night. someone once suggested that she get a perm, so she did, and then said it was so much easier to make pin curls with the perm. I give up.
and I wore french braids until I was 8 and had my first hair cut. to make pin curls, just take a little bit of hair with your left hand, put your right forefinger on your scalp where you want the curl, and wrap the hair around it with your left hand. holding the curl flat with your left hand, take out your right forefinger, pick up a bobby pin and put it in to secure the curl. sometimes, mom makes a criscross by using another pin. holds it better. I didn't know that this was a lost art, but maybe so.