I didn't do any sleep training and my daughter started consistently sleeping 11+ hrs around 16 months. My husband or I rocked her to sleep from day one, and I still rock her for a few minutes until she is sleepy before putting her into her bed. She goes to sleep on her own as long as someone remains in the room until she is really asleep (a few mins to maybe 10, depending on how tired she is). There is no issue at daycare with sleeping either, although she doesn't nap there as long as the other toddlers.
We were pretty sleep deprived but I was adamant about not doing cry-it-out or other "sleep training". What helped us was putting her on her tummy at around 10 months, putting black curtains on her window, running a fan for white noise, and learning to give her a minute or two when she cried out (later on) to see if it was a random cry in her sleep or if it was an escalating "I need you now" cry. If her crying escalates, one of us goes right in. If it is a half-hearted noise, we figure she likely isn't really awake and that going in to comfort her actually wakes her up.
Hang in there - they say sleep in babies/toddlers comes either through training or time. We chose time and at times, I thought I would never sleep a whole night through again, but it did happen. Go with what feels right to you as a parent - trust your instincts as to what your child needs, not what others think they do.