Originally Posted by wilpatricia
I am new to quilting and have found dozens of patterns that I would like to try, but they are just of the finished block. Do I need to take that apart and add my own seam allowance? How does that work?
If the blocks you are looking at have common size patches--say a 2 inch square or a rectangle that is 2 inches by 4 inches--it would still be much easier to use a rotary cutter & rotary ruler to cut your patches. Just remember to add in your seam allowances when you cut the patches out.
I have a bunch of old magazines from the early to mid 1980's--before rotary cutters & rulers became widely used and they are all like you described. Hand drawn squares even for a pattern as simple as a 4 Patch. Unless you are really into doing things the "old" way--please do yourself a favor and purchase a rotary cutter, ruler & cutting mat. If you are talking about applique, there is no easy way. You have to trace & cut all those shapes out. You can "cheat" by using a lightweight fusible interfacing so you don't need to add the seam allowances or the traditional needle turn method where you do add the seam allowances and turn them under as you hand or machine stitch the pieces down.