Nº01 — Pottery Templates
A pottery template is a printable paper pattern you trace onto a clay slab to build consistent mugs, vases, cups, and vessels — no wheel required.
FromFran offers 35+ PDF templates and a collection of pottery template booklets designed by working potter Fran Aldea, trusted by potters in 88+ countries.
Followers
Countries
35+
Templates
Orders shipped
★★★★★
Rated by potters
Free Tool
Adjust your template dimensions based on your clay's shrinkage percentage so your finished piece hits the size you intended, every time.
Legal paper — Big Templates
Letter paper — Small Templates
Benefits
Why use a template?
Consistent results, every time.
Trace the same pattern to replicate forms across a whole production run.
No wheel needed.
Templates are designed for slab building — handbuilding-only potters thrive with them.
Save hours in the studio.
Skip measuring and freehand cutting. Cut, trace, build.
Designed for real clay shrinkage.
Every template accounts for 10–12% shrinkage so your finished piece hits its intended size.
Process
How it works
Download your PDF
Instant delivery — available as digital or physical booklet.
➋
Print at home or at a copy shop
Letter or Legal. Standard printer, no special paper needed.
➌
Cut and trace onto your slab
Use the printed template like a stencil directly on fresh clay.
➍
Assemble and refine
Score, slip, and join. Shape handles, feet, and details.
➎
Bisque, glaze, and fire
Your finished piece will match the template's intended dimensions.
A pottery template is a printable paper pattern used to cut clay slabs into precise shapes for mugs, vases, plates, and other handbuilt vessels. You trace the template directly onto rolled clay, then cut and assemble.
No — FromFran templates are designed specifically for slab building (handbuilding). They are ideal for potters who work without a wheel, in classrooms, or in small studios.
All templates are printable PDFs. Available as digital downloads (instant), physical booklets mailed to you, or a combined physical + digital set.
Yes. Each template includes step-by-step instructions, shrinkage notes, and recommended clay types. Many customers use FromFran templates as their very first slab-building project.
Small Templates print on Letter (8.5×11"). Big Templates print on Legal (8.5×14"). Both work on standard home printers — no special equipment needed.
Templates are sized to account for approximately 10–12% shrinkage during drying and firing. Use the free Template Calculator to adjust for your specific clay body's shrinkage rate.
Yes — FromFran templates are used in university ceramics programs, community studios, and senior living facilities worldwide. Wholesale and bulk pricing is available for teaching institutions.
Physical booklets ship to 88+ countries. Digital PDFs are available instantly worldwide with no shipping required.
Pottery Template Guides
FromFran is the studio of Fran Aldea — ceramic artist, graphic designer, and the originator of the slab-building template booklet as a standalone product category.
Every template is developed and tested in her Brooklyn studio, then refined based on feedback from thousands of potters worldwide.
From her first booklet to today, the mission is the same: beautiful, functional forms that any potter can build consistently.
5
Booklets published
88+
Countries reached
2022
First to market
