How many days before Halloween should you carve pumpkins?

"Carve no more than three days before Halloween ," Evan recommends. If you plan to celebrate on the weekend before or after Halloween, pick a pumpkin carving date a few days before the celebration. Carve too early, and your pumpkin will scare off trick-or-treaters with its rotten teeth!

What is the app that makes pumpkin stencils?

Jack's Halloween Pumpkin Maker brings your pumpkin carving designs to life and is frightening fun for all ages! Create, share, and print “witch” ever silly and spooky pumpkin patterns you can imagine with: A variety of tools and stencils. Mix and match shapes.

Is there an app that turns pictures into stencils?

Fx Stencil lets you make a stencil from photo you takes or from your photo album.

When carving a pumpkin do you hollow it out first?

As before, you'll want to first hollow out your pumpkin first, so that there is space to put a light inside. The more you scrape, the brighter your design will appear when there is light inside your pumpkin.

Why did my carved pumpkin collapse?

Pumpkins that dry out tend to collapse around their carved edges.

Why did my carved pumpkin mold so fast?

What causes your pumpkin to start rotting and molding? Excess moisture . The two are a devilishly simple but effective combination.

What to do with the inside of a pumpkin after carving?

How to Reuse Carved Pumpkins Roast Pumpkin Seeds. To roast pumpkin seeds, separate them from the stringy guts and rinse well. ... Make Pumpkin Stock. ... Feed the Critters. ... Add it to Compost. ... Whip Up a Batch of Pumpkin Puree. ... Bake Pumpkin Bread. ... Make Pumpkin Soup. ... Eat Your Casserole Dish. More items... Oct 23, 2020

How do you carve a good pumpkin design?

Work on the small detailed bits first, then cut out the large sections . Again, be patient and take your time. Rotate the pumpkin in your lap to get a better angle or a better view of the pattern lines. Make sure you hand doesn't rest on a carved section.

How do I make a stencil from a picture without Photoshop?

How do I make a stencil from a picture without a Photoshop? Try using tracing paper by putting it over the picture. Then with a lead pencil trace out the image on the paper . You now can use what you just made as a template to make your stencil.

Free Pumpkin Carving Patterns and Templates for Halloween (2024)

DIY Projects

Halloween Crafts

Stacy Fisher

Stacy Fisher is an expert on crafting, sewing, and frugal finds, sharing her knowledge of hands-on DIY creations, finding freebies, and budgeting. Stacy was a guest on "The Dr. Oz Show" and featured in Woman's World Magazine. She has nearly two decades of writing and editing experience.

Learn more about The Spruce Crafts'Editorial Process

Updated on 09/29/21

These free pumpkin carving patterns,templates, and stencils will allow you to create a unique jack o' lantern that will put your neighbors and trick-or-treaters in awe. They're also extremely easy to use, so you can create something awesome even if you're a beginner.

You won't believe the variety of pumpkin carving ideas you'll see below. There are silly, scary, funny, and angry jack 'o lantern faces and other designs of just about anything you can imagine, from celebrities to your favorite Halloween image.

The pumpkin carving stencils are very easy to use, You simply print out the pattern of your choice, use a marker or pencil to transfer it, and then carve your pumpkin with your own kitchen knives. Nothing fancy required here! If you're looking for some really simple ideas, check out these easy pumpkin carving ideas.

After you've carved your pumpkin be sure to check out thesefree Halloween party invitations and You've Been Boo'ed printables.

01 of 19
Free Pumpkin Carving Stencils

Pumpkin Pile has hundreds of free pumpkin stencils sorted into traditional, classic jacks, cartoons, movies, superheroes, sports, video games, words, celebrities, vehicles, animals, and symbols categories.
Each free pumpkin stencil includes a difficulty rating from 1 to 5, as well as tips that are specific to each template.
Free Pumpkin Carving Stencils from Pumpkin Pile
02 of 19
Pumpkin Carving Patterns

The Pumpkin Lady has a great collection of hundreds of free pumpkin carving patterns.They're free for everyone but you can like them on Facebook to get even more free patterns.
These free pumpkin carving patterns are downloaded as PDF files and then printed. Included are instructions on how to carve the design.
Pumpkin Carving Patterns from The Pumpkin Lady
03 of 19
Free Pumpkin Carving Ideas and More

A spooky collection of scary pumpkin carving patterns awaits you at Dot Com Women. Choose from scary scenes that feature graveyards, haunted houses, spiders, crows, owls, and witches to adorn your pumpkin this year.
Along with the pumpkin carving pattern, you'll also get some instructions on how to carve each project. Most of them are printed as an image file that you can then overlay on the pumpkin for a guideline.
Free Pumpkin Carving Ideas and More from Dot Com Women
04 of 19
See Also
78 Creative Pumpkin Carving Ideas for Halloween Pumpkin carving ideas – 9 looks, from simple to spooktacular Halloween Pumpkin Carving Ideas 50 Best Easy Pumpkin Carving Ideas & Designs - A Piece Of Rainbow
Pumpkin Carving Templates

If you're a fan of camping, and a fan of KOA's in particular, you're going to love these pumpkin carving templates from KOA. They feature RV's, KOA logos, and other more general camping scenes. They're truly unique and a fun change from the usual bats and witches.
All of these free pumpkin carving templates are downloaded on separate pages in one PDF file.
Pumpkin Carving Templates from KOA
Continue to 5 of 19 below
05 of 19
Animal Pumpkin Carving Stencils

World Wildlife Federation (WWF) has a very nice group of pumpkin carving stencils that feature animals. You'll need to register with your email before downloading the files.
The pumpkin carving templates here are separated by skill level.You'll find African landscapes, butterflies, dolphins, gorillas, WWF logos, coral, polar bears, rhinos, tigers, and turtles all turned into stencils for you to carve into your pumpkin this Halloween.
When printed, carve out the black areas to imprint the design on the pumpkin.
Animal Pumpkin Carving Stencils from World Wildlife Federation
06 of 19
Pumpkin Carving Patterns and Templates

Martha Stewart has a nice collection of almost 50 free pumpkin carving patterns and templates. Use the arrows to scroll through the patterns until you find one you'd like to use, and then click on the link.
The pumpkin carving patterns here are in PDF files, so you'll need a program like Adobe Reader in order to open and print the pattern.
Pumpkin Carving Patterns and Templates from Martha Stewart
07 of 19
Free Pumpkin Carving Templates

ScaryProducts has some free pumpkin carving templates that include Halloween images of ghosts, bats, cats, Frankensteins, monsters, haunted houses, spiders, vampires, scary faces, and trick-or-treaters.
Free Pumpkin Carving Templates from ScaryProducts
08 of 19
Halloween Pumpkin Carving Patterns

HGTV has almost ten free pumpkin carving patterns of a witch, Frankenstein, a haunted house, bats, ghosts, and more.
Use the download link at the bottom of each image to get a full-sized pumpkin carving pattern.
Halloween Pumpkin Carving Patterns from HGTV
Continue to 9 of 19 below
09 of 19
Free Online Halloween Pumpkin Carving Patterns

SpookMaster mostly has pumpkin carving patterns you have to pay for but they also have six free pumpkin carving patterns.
The pumpkin stencils at SpookMaster are available as PDF files. When you open one of the stencils the difficulty level will be listed in the top right corner.
Free Online Halloween Pumpkin Carving Patterns from SpookMaster
10 of 19
See Also
11 pumpkin carving ideas – pretty and peculiar designs for Halloween
Printable Halloween Pumpkin Carving Stencils

Better Homes and Gardens has an impressive group of Halloween pumpkin carving stencils. Besides pumpkin carving stencils, they have a lot of tips on how to carve a pumpkin and how to decorate with pumpkins.
You'll love the detailed instructions and pictures that go with the free pumpkin carving patterns here at Better Homes and Gardens.
Printable Halloween Pumpkin Carving Stencils from Better Homes and Gardens
11 of 19
Freakish Pumpkin Carving Patterns

There are hundreds of pumpkin carving patterns at Zombie Pumpkins but unfortunately, most of them are going to cost you. They do have a few free pumpkin carving patterns for you to try.
You can choose between a Young Jason Voorhees, Minecraft, Mr. Spock, Baby's 1st, and zombie pumpkin pattern.
Click on the pumpkin carving template you'd like to print and then click the printer icon to print out your stencil.
Freakish Pumpkin Carving Patterns from Zombie Pumpkins
12 of 19
Beginner Pumpkin Carving Patterns

HGTV has dozens of free pumpkin carving patterns that are great for the beginner carver.
Just because these pumpkin carving patterns are for the beginner does not mean that they are boring. You'll find templates for haunted houses, owls, bats, tombstones, spiders, flowers, cats, faces, and more.
After transferring the pattern to the pumpkin, you'll want to carve out the grey areas.
Beginner Pumpkin Carving Patterns from HGTV
Continue to 13 of 19 below
13 of 19
Military Themed Pumpkin Stencils

The Veterans United Network has a set of eight free pumpkin stencils that are all military-themed.
You'll find free pumpkin carving patterns here for the Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, and more.
Military Themed Pumpkin Stencils from Veterans United Network
14 of 19
Pumpkin Carving Patterns

DLTK has a nice collection of free pumpkin carving patterns that include bats, banshees, cats, ghosts, haunted houses, owls, pirates, gravestones, scary faces, skulls, spiders, and spooky phrases to name a few.
The instructions at the top of the page for using the patterns are a really helpful addition—most sites that have free pumpkin carving patterns don't offer that.
Pumpkin Carving Patterns from DLTK
15 of 19
Free Pumpkin Carving Patterns

Fantasy Pumpkins has many free pumpkin carving patterns that are for the more expert pumpkin carver.
The free patterns here feature complicated carvings like that of a dragon, monster, ghost, unicorn, and fairy.
Free Pumpkin Carving Patterns from Fantasy Pumpkins
16 of 19
Free Pumpkin Patterns

Stoneykins has 100's pumpkin carving patterns that are completely free, but they also have premium patterns that you'll have to pay for. You'll find off-the-wall images like fish, logos, cartoon characters, TV icons, and much, much more here.
You'll need to click on the pumpkin carving pattern you want to use to download the stencil.
Free Pumpkin Patterns from Stoneykins
Continue to 17 of 19 below
17 of 19
Disney Character Pumpkin Carving Patterns

There are several free pumpkin carving patterns here that will help you create a Disney character pumpkin masterpiece. Disney has an assortment of templates separated into categories like Muppets, Olaf from Frozen, and Snow White.
You'll be able to choose from pumpkin stencils that will help you carve Winnie the Pooh, Minnie Mouse, Snow White, Tigger, and Goofy, among others.
Disney Character Pumpkin Carving Patterns from Disney
18 of 19
Halloween Pumpkin Carving Patterns, Stencils, and Templates

There are over 100 free pumpkin carving patterns at Celebrating Halloween!
The pumpkin carving stencils and templates here include images of bats, cats, ghosts, spiders, skeletons, angry birds, transformers, Disney characters, and more.
Each pattern should have its own set of cutting rules, but most of them seem to be grey and white images where you're supposed to carve out the grey areas to carve the pattern into the pumpkin.
Halloween Pumpkin Carving Patterns, Stencils, and Templates from Celebrating Halloween
19 of 19
Free Printable Pumpkin Carving Stencils

Browse your way through this slideshow of free printable pumpkin carving stencils at Reader's Digest.
If you find a pumpkin stencil you'd like to download, click on the download link below the pattern.You'll need a PDF reader to see these stencils.
With these patterns, just cut out any area that's black.
Free Printable Pumpkin Carving Stencils from Reader's Digest