granky

Having no choice is also what dictated the 'three layers make a quilt' theory. I know my quilting Grandmother would have jumped onto the 'back with fleece' bandwagon...and Aunt Amy would have danced a happy dance......

sandy l

Most of what I do is straight cuts with ruler and rotary cutter. About the only templates that I use on a regular basis are Creative Grids scrap 6", 8" and crazier 8"

juliasb

I am being quickly spoiled by my Go! cutter. For curved pieces I am finding it to be the very best. Rotary cutters are still the best for much of the cutting I do. I don't have dies for everything (yet). The 3 curved quilts I have dies for have been excellent. The notches are in the perfect place which lets the curves flow easily. For now the only straight line die I have is for the 2 1/2" cut and I am loving it. The accuracy in unreal.
I still use templates for a DWR. Those templates have gotten a great deal of use since I have made 5 king size and 1 queen size using the same templates. When I use templates I am more likely to hand quilt the finished quilt. Templates and hand quilting just seem to go together while rotary and machine quilting seem to go together. I have not yet quilted one of the tops I have made using my Accuquilt Go! so the jury is still out on that one. I am so far just enjoying the experience.

Jordan

I like both. I made a Double Wedding Ring using templates and it seemed very accurate and easy to use. On straight cutting I like to use the rotary cutter.

Barb in Louisiana

I do not like templates. I have to really focus to keep a rotary cutter straight. But, after doing several Judy Neimeyer projects, I can use a rotary cutter around a paper pattern piece and be very accurate. So does that count as templates??? Probably not. I forgot.... several years ago I used one of the Dresden plate fan templates and loved the ease of accurately cutting all those cute little fans. So, I guess I like the templates in the right circumstances.

SusieQOH

This is so true! I think we like the nostalgia factor way more than they did lol

quiltingcandy

When I started quilting it was cardboard templates - that's what I had and those were traced from magazines and books. Then it was traced onto freezer paper - and iron that onto fabric and cut those out. Then the plastic/acrylic templates came out - and I bought those. Then the metal ones and I had to have them..... Then one day I went to the Road to CA Quilt Show by myself and I watched the Accuquilt demonstration - must have stood there for 20 minutes talking to the lady as she showed me how well it cut, and the various dies. I always wanted to do a clamshell (even had the template) but here it was and all I had to do is put the fabric on it and roll it thru. And I could cut six at a time! I walked away - but it was stuck in my head. And it came home with me along with 4 dies - the 2 tumblers, clam shell, and the 2.5 inch strip die. I haven't used my templates since. (That's been about 10 years now.) Today I went away my templates to someone that will use them - so that makes me happy.

sewingsuz

I use all three. Go cutter, templates, and rotary cutter.

QuiltnNan

I use my Accuquilt, rotary cutter, and a few choice templates.

aashley333

I have made templates from xerox supplies. Teachers used to make overhead transparencies with copy machines. I have a box of blank transparencies that make great templates.