Awhile back, DH made me some templates out of scrap plexiglass. It worked great! :) He got the plexiglass at his job, but sometimes Lowes has scraps left where they cut a piece for someone. They'll often sell (if not give) you the scraps if you ask. Just depends on who's working at the time. ;-)

I read that someone on here used an old 3.5" floppy disk to make squares. Nifty idea!

An upside-down saucer would work for a circle, as would old CDs or DVDs. Even a Pringles tater chip lid would work for a small circle.

Glass would work, but after working with glass for several years (stained glass panels), I personally wouldn't recommend it. It's very easily broken, and can be chipped in a heartbeat by a rotary cutter bumping against it the wrong way. I've been bitten a few times too many by glass shards, if you can't tell! LOL!

Clear contact paper might work.

An old credit card or cover from an old hardcover book would give you a rectangle.

A plastic school-type ruler would work for a straightedge.

Shapes cut from plywood scraps or foam poster board would work.

Butter tub lids could be cut into shapes and used for templates. They wouldn't last forever, but should last a reasonable amount of time.

(With any thin template, watch that the rotary cutter doesn't "jump" the edge and get your fingers!)

I use old cereal boxes, old meat trays washed really well, and cardboard boxes so I have a nice built up edge to follow.

Try ironing several layers of freezer paper together,then cut the templates... rusty

take your quilting basting pins stick them straight up and down in the fabric it wont shift ( I sometimes place a large piece of cardboard under the material then stick the pins in

Not sure if this will help, but I bought some plastic, the touch stuff that is transparent, at Dollar Tree. They sell 2 in a package, and are labeled for crafts and for cutting mats...the size is 12" x 15", it says on the front, set of 2 CHOPPING MATS.
they are flexible too, and I will use them for templates.

I made a lot of templates from plexglass. They make a cutter especially for cutting it.

Spray the paper with a temporary adhesive. I believe that Krylon makes one for paper.
Also, there are packages of template material out there that are not too expensive. They are thin but durable. Mine are called Quilter's Temp A Graphs because they also have grids printed on them which makes it easy to get the right size when making a template piece.
Good luck to you.

If you have any old xrays around the house, you can use them instead of template plastic.

You may have heard of this but anyway, you can use used x- ray plastic from the medical imaging dept . My sister works in the hospital in this capacity and she keeps me stocked up. I make a paper template and glue it to the xray plastic then cut out . I use mine mostly for applique so it does not have to be as accurate as for piecing . hope this helps!

Ah.......bacon..........................your brillant............thanks.......calla/Sue