These templates are great for hand or machine piecing. When piecing by hand, trace around the shapes and mark dots for seam allowance in the holes provided. Use a pencil and Quarter Plus Tool to join the dots for your sewing line. For machine piecing, rotary cut around the shapes, the seam allowance is included. The translucent fiber optic plastic allows you to fussy cut your prints for beautiful star blocks. To fussy cut, first place the template over the selected print or flower, center as necessary and then trace or cut.