This is a cut-through stencil: the gray areas on the printable pattern are the pieces you remove, and everything white stays attached. The steps below give you the safest carving order. Plan on about 90-150 minutes from print to candle.

Set up first. Print the PDF at 100% scale on letter or A4 paper. Cut the lid at an angle, scoop the pumpkin clean, and thin the carving wall to about 1 inch where the design will sit. Tape the pattern on (snip small darts in the paper so it hugs the curve) and transfer every outline by poking dots along the lines, about one every 1/8 inch. Peel the paper away and carve dot to dot with short, straight strokes.

Carving order

1. Cut the small inner pieces first. Start with the two short strokes inside the lower half of the circle, the small wedge under the crossbar and its neighbor. These sit closest to the fragile white gaps, so clear them while the wall is solid.
2. Carve the peak of the A. Cut the tall central spike with the inverted V notch in its base. Saw to the top point from both sides and work carefully into the notch; do not connect this cut to the surrounding arcs.
3. Cut the circle arcs. Remove the curved ring segments one at a time: upper left, upper right, lower left, and the two pieces of the lower right. Keep every white gap between segments intact; those bridges are what hold the symbol together.
4. Cut the long slash last. The diagonal slash runs across the whole design and is the longest, thinnest piece. Cut its lower edge first, then the upper edge, supporting the strip with your free hand as it comes loose so it does not snap the nearby bridges on the way out.

Clear loose fibers out of each opening as you go, and never twist or pry the blade against the shell; back it out and recut instead. When every piece is out, wipe the cut edges dry and drop in a battery LED puck.