The FAA is concerned about low altitude stall/spin accidents these days. As well they should be. Quite a few of these accidents have happened in the past, so they've become a focus area. They're rather scary, too. Being low and [usually] slow, banking steeply, stalling and spinning in with no room for recovery is a grim scene. Luckily, there are things that can be done to protect you from becoming a stall/spin statistic.
Low altitude stall/spin accident usually happen in the traffic pattern, often during the turn from base to final. A tailwind on base is usually a contributing factor because it sets the stage for an overshoot of final, which invokes potential for a steepening bank at low altitude and airspeed. To make matters worse, the steep bank is often cross-controlled because the pilot subconsciously tries to cheat by turning the nose of the airplane back toward the runway using rudder. The steep bank plus the added adverse yaw most likely calls for opposite aileron deflection. The steep bank and increased load factor causes stall speed to increase exponentially and rapidly, the wing stalls in an uncoordinated turn, and presto, a spin is born. The base-to-final turn is usually executed below five hundred feet, so there's no room to recover and an almost certainly fatal crash results. It happens fast.
This does not have to happen to you. All that's required is a little vigilance in the pattern, and bank and airspeed discipline. Limit banks made in the traffic pattern to no more than thirty degrees. This will guarantee stall speed won't spike suddenly when you have little airspeed in the bank. Banking steeply causes a sudden withdrawal to your angle of attack margin savings account as the margin between current angle of attack and critical (stalling) angle of attack is cut exponentially. And during a phase of flight where airspeed isn't on your side you can't afford to make large withdrawals like that without changing something first. Banking can be thought of as a form of withdrawal from your angle of attack margin when airspeed remains constant, so limiting banking at low airspeed and altitude ensures you won't suffer an overdraw when you least desire it. Make a policy that banks in the pattern can never be steeper than thirty degrees. If greater bank is required because of an overshoot of final, the only option would be a go-around and an earlier turn to final on the next approach. There is never a reason to roll steeper than thirty degrees when a go-around is available.
In addition to the low altitude thirty degree bank limit, focus on making coordinated turns in the pattern. Your turns should always be coordinated, but this is even more important when low to the ground and slow. An airplane simply can not spin unless it is uncoordinated, so even if a stall occurs, if it's coordinated it will almost certainly be recoverable. Stall recoveries usually don't require more than one hundred feet, but spin recoveries can require thousands. Keep your turns coordinated and you'll never have to worry about spinning. Cross-check your inclinometer ("ball") and make sure it stays centered throughout the turn. When the airplane is coordinated, it's very unlikely for the wings to stall unevenly, so that protects you from entering a spin.
Of course, proper airspeed control is also important. Getting low and slow while banking is not a low risk form of flying. Keep the proper amount of airspeed in the bank to stay healthily away from a stall. But, remember, stalling is ALL about angle of attack. A gust of wind can change the wing's angle of attack, so in gusty conditions it's wise to carry extra airspeed (proportional to the velocity of the gusts). Bank angle increases load factor, and increased load factor causes stall speed to depart from the numbers in the POH and the arcs on the airspeed indicator and rise quickly. That's why banking should only be done conservatively in low altitude/low airspeed situations (i.e. the traffic pattern).
Don't forget to anticipate tailwinds on base, too. A tailwind on base calls for an earlier-than-normal turn to final. Anticipating this will reduce your likelihood of feeling tempted to over-bank to re-align with the runway. If you do overshoot, though, that's one of the worst places to bank steeply and a go-around should be given serious consideration.
Keeping your turns shallow and coordinated in the traffic pattern will offer your reliable protection from low altitude stall/spin accidents. It's a simple way of setting safety boundaries during low altitude/low airspeed operations.
