Paper templates, Beginner level

Sixteen Beginner slab pottery templates

First projects, from a 30 minute ring dish to a planter with its own saucer. Pick one when you can't decide what to make. One or two sheets each, no lids to fit, and a free sample to flip through before you buy.

New: some of these haven’t been built yet

You can download any of them with confidence. So far every template built and every template in progress has come out 100 percent perfect, and the same will likely be true for the rest.

Every template starts out in my New Pattern Program, marked NEW, until someone builds it in clay and it checks out. Each one should be sound and work as drawn, so use them at your own discretion and be ready to adjust on the fly if a project needs it. Pivoting mid-build is part of the fun of pottery.

Members: be the first to show me one fully assembled and I’ll fire that piece free, with your name on its tile for good. See which templates are still up for grabs.

Made one? Text it to the studio or tag @theclayhole on Instagram.

Log in. Members get five free a month
Grows as I add more

All Beginner Bundle

This is the one I'd hand someone in their first month. Mugs, trays, planters and dishes you'll actually use, and every Beginner template I make from here on joins it free. Sixty percent off, because I want you hooked.

Sixteen templates today, and every Beginner one I add later.

$37$92.50saves $55.50

See what’s in it
Beginner

Every Beginner template

Every size is a fired size, at 12 percent shrinkage, and every one has a free sample to flip through before you buy.

Cards per row
A speckled stoneware slab mug with a strip handle, full of coffee on a wooden table, from The Clay Hole paper template Paper template 01 The Slab Mug A straight-sided 11 ounce mug with a slab handle.
  • Beginner
  • an hour
  • 2 sheets, 6 pages
about 11 oz, 4 3/16 in tall, 3 1/16 in across
Two matching tapered stoneware tumblers in a teal glaze, made from The Clay Hole tapered tumbler paper template Paper template 02 The Tapered Tumbler An 8 ounce cup that flares out toward the rim, cut as one fan-shaped wall.
  • Beginner
  • 45 minutes
  • 2 sheets, 6 pages
about 8 oz, 3 15/16 in tall, 3 in across the rim
A tapered square speckled stoneware planter in its saucer with a pothos, made from The Clay Hole planter paper template Paper template 07 The Square Planter and Saucer A tapered 4 inch planter with a drainage hole and its own saucer.
  • Beginner
  • 90 minutes
  • 2 sheets, 6 pages
3 15/16 in across the top, 3 3/4 in tall, saucer 4 5/8 in square
A folded black stoneware serving tray holding nigiri sushi, made from The Clay Hole folded tray paper template Paper template 08 The Folded Serving Tray One slab, four corners cut away, sides folded up. The fastest tray there is.
  • Beginner
  • 30 minutes
  • 1 sheet, 5 pages
6 5/8 in x 4 3/8 in with 1 1/8 in sides
A lavender stoneware ring dish with a cone holding two gold rings, made from The Clay Hole ring dish paper template Paper template 10 The Ring Dish and Ring Cone A shallow round dish with a cone in the middle for rings.
  • Beginner
  • 30 minutes
  • 1 sheet, 5 pages
dish 4 3/16 in across, cone 2 5/8 in tall
A sage green stoneware spoon rest holding a wooden spoon beside the stove, made from The Clay Hole paper template Paper template 26 The Spoon Rest A one-slab spoon rest with a darted bowl and a fold-up saddle for the handle.
  • Beginner
  • 45 minutes
  • 1 sheet, 5 pages
7 7/8 in long, 4 1/2 in wide, the rim 9/16 in up
Speckled cream stoneware coasters, one under an iced tea and the rest in their caddy, made from The Clay Hole paper template Paper template 27 The Coaster Set and Caddy Four round coasters and the notched holder they stack in.
  • Beginner
  • an hour at the table, plus a slow flat drying
  • 2 sheets, 6 pages
coasters 4 in across, holder 4 11/16 in across and 1 3/16 in tall
A sage green stoneware phone and recipe stand holding a phone on the kitchen counter, made from The Clay Hole paper template Paper template 28 The Phone and Recipe Stand A leaning stand for a phone or a recipe card, with a path for the charging cord.
  • Beginner
  • an hour
  • 2 sheets, 6 pages
5 in wide, 5 in tall, a 3/4 in trough for the phone
A white stoneware propagation station holding three test tubes of pothos cuttings, made from The Clay Hole paper template Paper template 29 The Propagation Station A little bench that holds three glass test tubes of plant cuttings.
  • Beginner
  • an hour
  • 1 sheet, 6 pages
Requires extra hardware purchase5 15/16 in long, 3 15/16 in tall, three 1 1/8 in holes
Four folded stoneware ornaments, a red house, a green tree, a blue lantern and a gold bell, from The Clay Hole paper template Paper template 30 The Folded Ornaments A house, a tree, a lantern and a bell, each folded from one thin slab.
  • Beginner
  • an hour for all four, plus drying
  • 2 sheets, 6 pages
four ornaments 2 1/8 in to 2 7/8 in tall
A sunflower yellow stoneware sponge caddy holding a blue sponge on its drip tray, made from The Clay Hole paper template Paper template 73 The Sponge Caddy and Drip Tray An upright sponge caddy on four corner legs with a U dip for your fingers, standing in its own drip tray.
  • Beginner
  • 90 minutes
  • 2 sheets, 6 pages
caddy 5 3/16 in x 1 15/16 in, 2 13/16 in tall, in a 5 13/16 in x 2 9/16 in tray
A pointed amber stoneware lens dish holding green olives on a linen tablecloth, made from The Clay Hole paper template Paper template 78 The Lens Dish A pointed oval dish from two identical curved walls that run past each other at the points like fins.
  • Beginner
  • an hour
  • 2 sheets, 6 pages
about 17 oz, 8 in long, 4 1/4 in wide, 1 3/4 in tall
Three nesting stoneware trays with red glaze inside and leather laced corners, made from The Clay Hole paper template Paper template 81 The Laced Nesting Trays Three square trays that nest, each folded from one slab, their open corners laced with leather.
  • Beginner
  • 2 hours at the table for all three, plus drying
  • 2 sheets, 8 pages
Requires extra hardware purchase4 1/2, 6 and 7 1/2 in square, 1 1/2 to 2 in tall
A mustard yellow stoneware brush stand of three slanted tubes holding paint brushes, made from The Clay Hole paper template Paper template 83 The Three Tube Brush Stand Three slant-cut tubes in a tight triangle, each opening tipped outward, for paint brushes or makeup brushes.
  • Beginner
  • 90 minutes
  • 3 sheets, 8 pages
4, 5 1/4 and 6 1/2 in tall, 2 1/8 in across each tube
Four cream stoneware scroll bud vases with black curled tips holding single stems, made from The Clay Hole paper template Paper template 87 The Rolled Scroll Bud Vases A set of four slim bud vases rolled like sheets of paper, each top spiraling up to a curled flap.
  • Beginner
  • 2 hours at the table for all four, plus drying
  • 4 sheets, 8 pages
four vases 5 to 8 3/4 in tall, 1 5/8 in across
Speckled cream oval stoneware soap dish with raised ridges holding a bar of soap, made from The Clay Hole paper template Paper template 95 The Soap Dish A flared oval soap dish from one slab, with raised ridges that hold the bar up out of the water.
  • Beginner
  • an hour
  • 2 sheets, 6 pages
6 1/4 in long, 4 1/4 in wide, 1 1/8 in tall
More bundles

Bundles that go with these

Each one is a handful of templates that belong together, for less than they cost one at a time.

Every level

Somewhere to go next

Beginner16 templates, this pageOne or two sheets, no lids to fit. Intermediate33 templatesParts that have to fit each other. Advanced35 templatesMore sheets, and sometimes hardware. Expert20 templatesMost of an afternoon, or a few sittings. Insane30 templatesDozens of pieces that fit exactly. Legendary3 templatesWorld monuments, built in sections. Kiln furniture4 templatesRacks and trees for firing beads.

Every paper template · Every bundle · Every collection

Sent as download links by email the moment the order goes through. Already a member? Log in, and five templates a month are free, one at a time.

Sent as download links by email the moment the order goes through. Already a member? Log in and five templates a month are free.
How a template works

Print, check, roll, cut, build

A paper template does one thing: it puts the same shape on the slab every time, at a size that was decided before the clay came out of the bag. That is how a set of four tumblers matches, and how a lid fits the box it was cut with.

1

Print at 100 percent

Actual size, never Fit to page. Plain copy paper works. Card stock survives a wet slab and can be used again.

2

Check the print

Every sheet carries a 1 inch square and a 5 centimeter bar. A ruler on the square settles whether the print is right. A piece bigger than a sheet prints in parts: match the triangles and tape them first.

3

Roll the slab

Most packs are drawn for 1/4 inch, and the cover says when one needs thicker. Let the slab firm up to soft leather hard, so it holds an edge and still bends.

4

Cut the count, then build

Lay the paper on the slab, cut straight down just outside the edge, bevel where the hatching says, and follow the numbered steps.

A string around your finger

The final lap is yours

I drew these so the fiddly part is already solved. The seams line up, the lid fits, and the piece comes out the size the pack says. That’s my part. Everything after the last seam belongs to you.

Press a texture into the slab before you cut it. Carve or pierce it at leather hard. Give it feet, a knob or a handle I never drew. Glaze it in something I would never pick in a million years. Two people can build the same template side by side and walk away with pieces that look nothing alike, and that’s exactly how it should go.

  • Texture the slab first
  • Carve, pierce or stamp
  • Add feet, knobs or handles
  • Sprigs and slip trailing
  • Glaze it your way

One thing to keep in mind: leave the bones alone. Thinning a wall that carries weight, cutting through a seam or piling extra clay on a lid changes how the piece holds together in the kiln. Decorate the skin as much as you like.

Members

Free templates, every single month

Print one tonight and bring it to your next session. I’d love to see what you make. If you are not a member yet, a membership includes five free templates a month along with the classes, the kilns, the glaze wall and everything else in the studio.

Log in. Members get five free a month See what a membership includes