go to DLTK's Homepage
25 Newest  Activities
Top 10 Activities

  
[Halloween]   [Carving]   [Coloring]   [Costumes]   [Crafts]   [Games]   [Printables]   [Recipes]   [Songs]
  

DLTK's Holiday Activities for Kids
Pumpkin Carving Patterns

Click here for templates >

Step by Step Instructions:   

bullet

Prepare your pumpkin by:
bullet

Cut a hole in the top for the lid.  Make sure you angle the saw inwards so your lid sits on top of the pumpkin and doesn’t just fall through

bullet

Scoop out the seeds and strings with a spoon

bullet

Scrape some of the flesh from the inside so your pumpkin is about an inch thick all the way around (or at least wherever you’ll be carving).  You can poke  a straight pin through it to estimate the thickness
 

bullet

Print out the pattern.
 

bullet

Trim off excess paper.
 

bullet

Tape or use pins to affix the pattern to the pumpkin.
 

bullet

If your pumpkin is quite lumpy, dip the paper in water or vegetable oil (the oil will make printer ink run less, but makes the project quite slippery). 
bullet

Smooth the pattern onto the pumpkin, affix with pins or masking tape and let the paper dry. 

bullet

You can also make small cuts in the paper where it bunches so it lies flat on the pumpkin.  Add pins or tape to hold
  

bullet

Poke holes through the pattern with a nail, push pin or pumpkin poker.  Make the holes about 1/8th inch apart (or even closer for more complicated patterns).  This step can take quite awhile so be patient.  Just place the pumpkin in your lap and work away at it.
 

bullet

Remove the paper from the pumpkin.
 

bullet

Rub flour or chalk dust all over the part where you poked the holes so you can see them better.
   

bullet

Push a nail through the pumpkin skin where you want to start carving. 
bullet

Turn and push until it’s all the way into the pumpkin, then remove. 

bullet

Repeat anywhere you're going to need to start carving (eyes, nose, etc). 

bullet

You want to do all the pushing before you start carving because it take some pressure (once you start carving, the pumpkin becomes weaker and applying pressure may cause it to break)
  

bullet

Using your nail hole as a starting point, cut the design with your serrated knife or saw. 
bullet

start somewhere in the center of the design to keep from putting too much pressure on areas already carved

bullet

Use a sawing motion to cut out your design, using very light pressure… take your time and allow the sawing to do the work rather than applying pressure and forcing it.

When making curves, just slightly turn the saw.  When making sharp corners, remove the saw and re-insert it at an angle.
 

bullet

To remove pieces, push them out from the inside.  For larger pieces, you may want to cut them into smaller bits and remove them in sections.
  

bullet

Once your pumpkin is all set, use a pumpkin light (safer than a candle) or a candle in a candleholder designed for pumpkins to light it up.
bullet

Light the candle and place it on a piece of tinfoil inside the pumpkin.  Put the lid on.  Let it sit a minute

bullet

Remove the lid and there should be a smoke mark on it

bullet

Cut a vent in the lid where the smoke mark shows

Click here for templates >

 

Printable Version of these instructions