Oh, Dear, I think I'm dating myself. Templates? Were they anything besides something you cut out of paper yourself if you wanted a special design? That's how my Great Grandmother and Mother taught me how to do it. We had some old (very old) pattern books, but there were no quilting magazines. Maybe there was more available in the "big cities", but I was a country girl. I did have a "One Stitch" Singer electric, sometimes used my Great Grandmother's Singer treadle. Mostly pieced by hand. Used old ---- I guess you would call them "fabric templates"--- that had been passed down through the generations, for the block designs so we'd be able to get the sizes right. What the "fabric templates" represented had been written on them in ink. I'd pin the fabric piece or the cut out paper to the fabric, draw around the "template", remove the template, and cut the piece out with scissors. The quilts were made from old clothes, old bedsheets, feed sacks, things like that. I made a couple of "scrappy quilts" without knowing that's what they were. Just kept sewing scraps together until I had a top. We never used batting, unless we had a worn out quilt that was no good for anything else. We didn't have batting like we have today anyway. Using the alternatives, like flannel, was too expensive, and we wouldn't dream of using perfectly good cloth between "tops". Yes, that's right. The backings were made from the same stuff the tops were made from, but with less concern for pattern, unless you wanted a two-sided quilt. And they were either "tied", which was fairly quick, or hand quilted, which was really boring as far as I was concerned. I do remember my Mother putting an old, worn, wool blanket between two tops, and was that quilt warm! And hard to hand quilt. She was very fussy about it, and I pulled out a lot of stitching to suit her. I also remember her cutting up my Father's Navy uniforms to make coats for us. Funny the thoughts. . . I was in my 20's before I ever bought fabric for a quilt. Unheard of! Bought fabric was for clothing you wore! I guess you can see why I wasn't so excited about making quilts when I was young. They were necessary, so I did it. I preferred making clothing, like formal wear, prom dresses, bridesmaid dresses, Mother of the Bride or Groom dresses, and even a few Wedding Dresses, that I could sell for real money. And I was a good seamstress (me and my One Stitch Singer and hand made button holes).
Now here it is, decades later, and I'm back to making quilts, but this time I'm loving it! I have a good sewing machine, and am about to get a terrific one. I have a rotary cutter, although sometimes I long for my scissors. I'm still working on being a good rotary cutter. I have a ton of rulers and gadgets you wouldn't believe! All deemed necessary! And the incoming flow of information on quilting is quite overwhelming! I was teased when I went to Good Will for "practice fabrics" and came home with a haul for $20. Who would spend good money on fabric I'm going to throw away when I'm done? My husband was hysterical. I don't understand. But you should see my stash of "bought fabrics"! It makes me blush. I just adore this new way of quilting. I can be so creative! It's so much more fun than sewing clothes!
And that's the whole story!