It could be used to portray saint without top drawing aid (7)

I believe the answer is:

stencil

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But I can't explain it at all! Could you help me understand?

(Other definitions for stencil that I've seen before include "Perforated sheet for producing patterns or symbols" , "Clients for copying device" , "Sheet with cut-out letters, pattern etc for copying" , "It's perforated for ink or paint to pass through" , "Sheet with holes used to make ink or paint patterns" .)

I've seen this clue in The Hindu.

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