111 carving ideas

What Should I Carve on My Pumpkin

One press picks a design to carve on your pumpkin, with a line on how hard the cut is.

All 111

Classic face: triangle eyes, triangle nose, toothy grinStraight cuts only. The square teeth are the one fiddly part.

Next step Pick a costume to go with it

All 111 carving ideas

Faces 24

Classic face: triangle eyes, triangle nose, toothy grin Straight cuts only. The square teeth are the one fiddly part.
Eyes only, glancing to one side Two shapes and you are done. About as easy as carving gets.
Face shaved into the skin, with no holes at all Scrape away skin and stop before you break through. Slow work that glows softly.
Face that uses the pumpkin's own bumps as warts Pick a lumpy pumpkin and carve a plain grin round what is there.
Face with a curly moustache and raised eyebrows The moustache curls and narrows at both ends. Hard to keep in one piece.
Face with heart eyes Two curves and a point for each heart. Medium, and kinder on a big pumpkin.
Face with star eyes A star is ten short straight cuts. Draw the pair large and it is a medium carve.
Fanged grin with two long teeth Medium. Cut the fangs wide where they join the lip, so they hold.
Goofy face with its tongue sticking out The tongue is a tab left inside the mouth. Medium, and easy to cut off by mistake.
Grumpy face with slanted eyebrows The brows are narrow slits. Leave a finger's width of rind under each one.
Happy face on the front, grumpy face on the back Twice the sawing, each face simple. Turn the pumpkin to change its mood.
Laughing face with eyes squeezed shut The eyes are two thin arcs. Narrow curved slits are slow going.
Monster face with three eyes and crooked teeth Nothing has to match, so a slip never shows.
One-eyed face with a huge round eye Few cuts and all of them large. Trace a bowl for the eye.
Scared face with pupils left in the eyes Each pupil hangs on a bridge of rind. Medium: plan the bridges before you cut.
Screaming face with a tall open mouth Big holes saw out fast. Leave a wide bridge between the eyes and the mouth.
Sideways face on a pumpkin laid down, the stem as its nose Simple cuts; the stem does the work. Slice a flat spot so it cannot roll.
Sleepy face with half-moon eyes Two half moons and a small mouth: curved cuts, but only a few.
Stitched-up mouth A long slit crossed by short ones. All thin cuts, so use the smallest saw.
Surprised face with a round O for a mouth Circles are harder than triangles. Saw slowly and turn the pumpkin, not the blade.
Tiny face on a tiny pumpkin Small cuts are harder than big ones. Poke the eyes with a skewer and keep the mouth plain.
Wide grin with a single tooth Three big shapes and one tab of a tooth. A good first carve.
Winking face One eye is a triangle and the other a thin curved slit, which wants a narrow blade.
Zigzag mouth from ear to ear Every cut is straight, but thin points snap. Keep each zig as wide as a thumb.

Animals 24

Bat with its wings spread The lower edge of each wing is a row of small curves. Medium.
Bear face with round ears Circles and ovals only. The cuts are large and forgiving.
Butterfly with four open wings Four wing holes round a body left in place. Keep the body a finger wide.
Cat face with pointed ears and whiskers Medium. Cut the whiskers last: they are thin slits and weaken the cheeks.
Crow in profile with a sharp beak A solid shape that saws out cleanly. The feet are the fiddly bit.
Dog face with floppy ears The ears are long drooping ovals. Medium, and nearly all curves.
Dragon head breathing flames Teeth, a horn and tongues of fire: many thin points close together.
Fish bones, head to tail A spine and ribs cut as slits. Leave rind between every rib.
Fox face made of triangles Ears, eyes and a pointed snout, all from straight cuts.
Frog with eyes on top of its head A wide mouth and two round eyes cut high up. Simple shapes.
Hedgehog with a back full of spikes A long row of zigzags: straight cuts, and plenty of them.
Long-necked dinosaur Cut the dinosaur itself out as the hole. Left standing, the neck would snap.
Mouse with big round ears Three circles and a dot of a nose. Easy with a cup to trace round.
Owl with rows of feathers Pupils left in and rows of small notches down the chest. A patient carve.
Paw prints walking across the front One large hole and four small ones for each print. A corer makes short work of it.
Rabbit with tall ears A few gentle curves. It wants a tall pumpkin more than a skilled hand.
Sitting cat in outline, tail curled One shape in one piece. The tail is the narrow part, so cut it last.
Snake winding round the pumpkin One wavy line, cut as dashes so the wall stays strong. Easy to draw, slow to saw.
Spider dangling on a thread Medium. Eight thin legs: cut them as slits and the body as one round hole.
Stag head with antlers Antlers branch into narrow tines. Shave them into the skin if they keep breaking.
Three small bats flying upward Small shapes, so keep each one plain: two wings and a blob of a body.
Two owl eyes and a beak Two rings and a diamond. Leave the pupils in if you feel brave.
Whale with a spout One fat curve for the body and a few slits for the spray. Medium.
Wolf howling inside a full moon Hard. The moon is the hole and the wolf stays standing in it on thin legs.

Shapes and patterns 25

An arrow pointing to your front door Seven straight cuts. Check which way it points before you saw.
Checkerboard shaved into the skin Shave every other square and cut none through. Slow, careful work.
Crescent moon with a few stars One long curve for the moon. The points at each end are the delicate part.
Curling vines and scrolls Thin lines that curl back on themselves. Shave them; do not cut through.
Daisy with a round middle The middle hangs between the petals on thin bridges. Go slowly.
Dashed spiral from stem to base An unbroken spiral would cut the pumpkin in two. Leave a gap every few inches.
Diamond lattice A grid of diamonds with narrow bars between. Straight cuts, careful spacing.
Drilled dots in a swirl No knife at all. Mark the swirl with a pen, then drill along it.
Falling leaves An oval leaf is easy. A maple leaf has many points, so draw it big.
Flames rising from the base Wavy tongues with pointed tips. Keep each flame broad at the bottom.
Keyhole A circle sitting on a wedge. Two shapes, done in minutes.
Lightning bolts All straight lines. Quick, and hard to get wrong.
Musical notes on a wavy line Round note heads with thin stems. Medium: the stems want a narrow saw.
Pairs of eyes all the way round Simple shapes over and over. Change the size and the tilt of each pair.
Pointed hat with a buckle A tall triangle on a brim. The square buckle stays in place on two bridges.
Polka dots all over Push an apple corer in, twist, pull out the plug. No drawing needed.
Row of hearts round the middle Medium. Fold a paper heart to trace, so they all match.
Slits that follow the pumpkin's own grooves Long straight cuts from top to bottom. Leave every rib wide.
Spider web across the whole front Hard. Straight spokes, curved rings and thin rind between them all.
Star pattern in drilled holes Mark the stars of a constellation you know and drill each one. Easy once marked.
Stars in three sizes Each star is ten short straight cuts. Easy ones, but there are a lot to do.
Sunburst: a circle with rays round it One circle, then a ring of wedges. Straight cuts apart from the middle.
Three round portholes Three large circles in a row. Trace a jar lid.
Your own handprint Trace your hand. The fingers are narrow, so shave it into the skin.
Zigzag band round the top like a crown A ring of triangles. Straight cuts, repeated until you meet the start.

Words and letters 18

A question mark One hooked curve and a dot. Medium: the hook is a tight turn.
BEWARE Six letters. The B, the A and the R have middles, so plan their bridges on paper.
BOO Medium. Leave bridges to hold the middles of the B and both Os.
BOO with eyes peering out of the Os Leave a pupil in each O. The bridges that hold them are short, so cut gently.
EEK All straight cuts and no middles to lose. The easiest word here.
HAPPY HALLOWEEN shaved into the skin Fourteen letters. Shaving saves you from holding every middle on a bridge.
HI Two letters and nothing but straight lines. Fits a small pumpkin.
HOWL H, W and L are straight lines. Only the O needs a bridge.
OCT 31 Five characters. The curves of the O, the C and the 3 take the time.
One letter on each pumpkin to spell a word Each carve is one big letter. You need a pumpkin for every letter.
THIS WAY with an arrow Seven letters and an arrow, all straight lines except the S.
TRICK on one pumpkin, TREAT on the next Ten letters over two pumpkins. Both Rs and the A have middles to hold.
Two initials inside a heart Cut the letters and shave the heart round them, so nothing falls out.
WELCOME Seven letters fill the front. Small letters mean small cuts.
Your age in big numerals For a birthday near the end of October. One or two digits, cut tall.
Your family name round the middle Tall plain capitals and a lot of them. A long evening.
Your first initial, as big as the pumpkin allows One block capital. Most letters are straight lines.
Your house number Handy after dark. A 0, 6, 8 or 9 needs a bridge to keep its middle.

Scenes 20

Bare tree with an owl on a branch Thin branches snap. Cut the sky away and leave the tree, or shave it.
Bats pouring out of a tower A dozen small bats. Each is simple; the count is what takes the evening.
Campfire under the stars Flames over crossed logs, with drilled stars above.
Castle with towers The battlements are square notches, all straight. The windows are small.
Cat on a fence in front of the moon The moon is one big hole, and the cat and the fence are left standing in it.
Cauldron with bubbles rising A round pot, then drilled bubbles getting smaller as they climb.
City skyline with lit windows Saw away the sky above a row of roofs, then drill the windows.
Crooked fence with a gate A row of uneven posts. Straight cuts that are meant to look wonky.
Ghosts floating in a row Each ghost is one wavy outline with two eyes left in. Medium.
Haunted house on a hill Hard. The windows and door are the holes, and the house is the rind left round them.
Lighthouse with two beams A tower and two widening rays. Nearly all straight lines.
Little pumpkins on a vine Small ovals joined by a shaved line. Pumpkins carved on a pumpkin.
Mountains under a round moon One zigzag ridge and one circle.
Night sky: a moon, clouds and stars A few large shapes. The clouds are the only wobbly lines.
Rocket passing a ringed planet Medium. The ring crosses the planet, so shave it and cut the rest.
Row of pine trees Triangles stacked into trees. Straight cuts that repeat.
Sailing ship on waves Triangle sails over a curved hull. Medium, and the mast must stay thin.
Scarecrow in a field A hat, arms on a pole and a row of stalks. Many thin parts to keep whole.
Small arched door at the base One arch and a dot for the knob. It looks as if someone lives inside.
Window with four panes Four squares. The bars between them are thin, so keep them a finger wide.

How it works

Press the button for one of 111 things to carve on a pumpkin: faces, animals, patterns, words and scenes. The whole list is below.

Read the full guide

Pick by how hard the cut is

Straight lines are the easy cuts: triangles, zigzags and block capitals. Curves are slower, and thin parts (whiskers, branches, the middles of letters) are where a pumpkin breaks. Easy cuts holds 30 designs for a first pumpkin, and For a steady hand holds the 22 hardest.

Cut through, or shave the skin

A design can be cut right through, so the candle shows, or shaved into the skin, so the wall glows. Shaving suits thin lines, because nothing can fall out. An adult does the cutting; children can draw the design and scoop out the seeds.

Draw the design on paper, tape it to the pumpkin and prick along the lines with a pin.
Cut the smallest shapes first, while the wall is still strong.

Questions and answers

What is the easiest thing to carve on a pumpkin?

A pair of eyes glancing to one side: two shapes and you are done. The classic face of triangle eyes, a triangle nose and a toothy grin is all straight cuts, and so are lightning bolts and the word EEK.

What should I carve on my pumpkin if I can't draw?

Pick a design you can trace or drill: polka dots, drilled dots in a swirl, three portholes traced round a jar lid, or your own handprint. A monster face forgives wobbly lines too, because nothing has to match.

What can I carve on a small pumpkin?

One bold shape: a single initial, HI, a keyhole, a one-eyed face or a few cored dots. Small cuts are harder than large ones, so leave out anything with thin lines.

What can I carve on a pumpkin instead of a face?

An animal, a pattern, a word or a scene: a fox made of triangles, a crescent moon with stars, your house number or a row of pine trees. The list has 87 designs that are not faces.