I specialize in teaching a six week beginning quiltmaking class and have had over 450 successful students over 20 years. We begin the old fashioned way with templates and marking fabric with a pencil. They learn the basics which then they can later translate to machines. They learn to hand quilt during the second class on a practice square. The project is a 4 block sampler using a light medium, dark, and light fabric combination. I provide a small kit for the first class which has some scrap fabric, needles, thread, pins, etc. I have extra scissors, etc. It puts more burden on me to supply these things but we talk about proper tools and fabric selection. They come to the next class with supplies and a a start on the first block.
I have had former students come up to me and say they have taken classes before and after (usually machine based) and could not have understood what was going on without what they learned in my class.
This year at the county fair, two former students earned grand champion and reserve champion quilts. I was a proud momma.