RIght now I'm working on a PP called A Cog in a Wheel and it included templates to cut for the sections. As they were just paper, I found a ruler that fit the template. I also checked to see how much larger the template was to the actual piece and was able to downsize it just enough to still give me a little extra so not wasting as much fabric. Also, as my pieces are all triangles in 2 different shapes, I measured to see what size strip I would need to cut, again saving lots of excess wasted fabrics. I found by marking the main pattern section with a line down the center, I was able to position the fabric so it was in the correct position and direction. I found triangles can be a bear but now it's going much smoother and faster. As this pattern calls for 8 different fabrics, I was putting the wrong fabric in the wrong place so I started writing down the letter of the fabric on the backside which again saved me a lot of having to rip it out and redo it with the correct fabric. I'm now halfway done on the pattern. Today as we're losing our power for 4+ hours, I decided it was a great time to start tearing off the paper on the 3 rows I've completed.
Good luck on your PP, I actualy enjoy doing PP projects but don't do enough of them.