I am just finishing the 12th BOM with starch method applique and I LOVE it. It's a total pain in the neck to prepare the pieces, but the results are so precise and so beautiful, it's worth all the work. :)
I'm working on another one where I just left roughly 1/4" extra seam allowances on all the pieces and I glued the pieces in place with Elmer's Washable School Glue or Roxanne's Glue Baste-It. I turn the edges under as I go with a toothpick I keep stuck in my mouth while I'm sewing. That's fun and relaxing, but the results are not nearly so precise.
I have gotten my third block kit for Pearl Pereira's Baltimore Christmas BOM and I think I'm going to do the starch method. I really love the perfect edges and uniformity for a block that's supposed to be symmetrical. :)
There are lots of different tutorials on the web for doing the starch method of fabric preparation. I saturate my fabric with starch and iron it dry to shrink it and set colors.
I use Templar Heat Resistant template material for creating the templates, (instead of freezer paper) a 50/50 mix of Sta-Flo and water in a dropper bottle for treating the seam allowance with starch and a Clover mini iron for turning the edges under. I take the template out and steam the heck out of the piece from the front and let it cool before I touch it.
Once all the pieces are prepared, I shrink the background fabric and serge blocks at least 1½"-2" larger than the finished blocks will be, tape the background over the pattern on the lightbox and start laying down the pieces closest to the background. I glue them on with one of those starch-based glues and steam them with the iron to set them and dry the glue.
Keep the glue away from the outside edges of where you will be sewing, because hand-stitching through hard-glued fabric is NOT fun. ;)
A good soak in warm soapy water and a scrub between your thumbs will take out all the glue and starch and leave your fabric soft and beautiful. :)