Back in the day before rotary cutting sandpaper was used on cardboard templates so they didn't slide around when you were marking your fabric before cutting with scissors. You would use a pencil to mark around your template then cut a 1/4" or so from that line to get your piece. You didn't have to be exact with the cutting since the pencil line was your stitching line. When I pieced by hand this was the method used. Maybe that's what people were referring to.