Barred Eyes and Tooth-Grid Classic Jack-O-Lantern

From pumpkin to porch

1. 1

   Hollow and map all structural elements

   Hollow to a 22mm wall. Mark both triangle eye outlines and their horizontal bar positions; bars should be at least 12mm wide. Mark the diamond nose. Then draw the full grid pattern of the mouth: outer rectangle, inner vertical strips, and the horizontal strip dividing the two tooth rows.

2. 2

   Score the mouth grid lines first

   Using a fine detail knife, score the grid lines inside the mouth area at full wall depth without removing any material. These scored lines act as guides and stopping points when the rectangular window material is cut out. Every scored intersection must remain intact.

3. 3

   Cut the rectangular mouth windows

   Remove each rectangular window between the grid strips one at a time. Work from the center of the grid outward. Use a narrow saw to cut the field of each window and pop out the rectangular pieces. Check that each adjoining strip is still firm before moving to the next window.

4. 4

   Cut the triangle eyes with horizontal bars

   Cut each triangle eye in two halves: the upper section above the horizontal bar and the lower section below it. The bar connects the lower rim of the eye to the brow region above. Remove the upper and lower sections, leaving the bar firmly in place.

5. 5

   Cut the diamond nose and diamond cheek cutouts

   Cut the diamond nose with four converging tip cuts. Then cut the four diamond cheek cutouts, two per side, using the same two-angle tip approach. The cheeks frame the face and echo the diamond shapes visible in the mouth grid.

6. 6

   Light and position at night

   Place an LED inside and position the pumpkin on a garage threshold or elevated step. The double-row tooth grid glows as two parallel bands of rectangular light, and the barred eyes give the face a watchful, gridded quality that reads distinctly at night.

Written with AI to match this design