The majority of the applique quilts I have made were done with freezer paper templates. I was able to have great control over exactly where the placement of each piece had to go. I love the finished look. It takes a great deal of time to do a full size quilt doing any applique designs.
Now that I am working with the Accuquilt cutting system so much I am experimenting with raw edge applique. I don't have a real handle on it yet but still playing with it. It will take me some time to learn raw edge applique. I believe it will be worth the learning curve.