I bought some (don't remember which ones now) when I was doing a Marti Mitchell BOM at a LQS in Virginia. You can get by without them but I did find that the blocks went together faster with fabric cut from the templates (I guess I'm not as exact I would like:( Personally, its a matter of taste. The money isn't completely wasted on the templates as the quilts are gorgeously intricate so you will probably want to make more than one. However, I put together one Mitchell BOM top with just cutting the templates out of template plastic. It took more careful sewing but it can be done. I don't remember why I bought the templates the second year but I did. It depends on your needs. Hope this helps.