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View all stencils →About this stencil
A bat spreads huge scalloped wings across the whole front of the pumpkin, its furry body, tall ears, and wing finger-bones modeled in carved relief shading. Skin is shaved away inside the wing membranes while the ribs, body, and outline are left raised, and nothing is pierced. Shave the membrane panels evenly and keep the wing bones proud for a dramatic sculpted look. This design is rated Advanced and takes most carvers around 150 minutes from trace to glow. Multi-layer cuts with skin-peel shading. Plan your cuts first.
Pumpkin size guide
- 🎃 Small (5–7") — print at 80%
- 🎃 Medium (7–10") — print at 100% (recommended)
- 🎃 Large (11–13") — print at 130%
- 🎃 Giant (14"+) — print at 150% on tabloid paper
Frequently asked questions
Can I resize this stencil?▾
Yes. The PDF is vector so it scales cleanly. Print at 100% for a 7–10 inch pumpkin, 130% for 11–13 inch, or 150% for a giant. Use your printer's "Fit to page" or "Custom scale" setting.
What kind of paper works best?▾
Standard 20 lb letter or A4 printer paper is fine. Heavier paper is harder to bend around the pumpkin curve. If your printer supports it, set the quality to 'best' so the lines are crisp.
How long will the carved pumpkin last?▾
Usually 5–10 days. Coat all cut surfaces with petroleum jelly and store the pumpkin somewhere cool overnight. Avoid direct sun. Battery LED pumpkin lights produce no heat and double the lifespan.
Can I sell pumpkins carved with this stencil?▾
Yes, the carved pumpkin you make is yours. The license covers personal and small-scale commercial carving (selling carved pumpkins, photographing them, posting on social). You may not resell the PDF file itself.
What if my printer doesn't print the whole stencil?▾
Set 'Page scaling' to 'Fit' in the print dialog and uncheck 'Auto-rotate'. If it still cuts off, the design includes 0.25" of safe-area margin so a small crop won't ruin it.
How to carve this stencil
- 1Print it
Download the PDF and print at 100% scale on letter or A4 paper.
- 2Prep the pumpkin
Cut the lid at an angle, scoop the guts, thin the wall to ~1 inch.
- 3Tape it on
Snip darts in the paper so it lies flat against the curve.
- 4Transfer the design
Poke along every line — about one dot every 1/8 inch.
- 5Carve it
Connect the dots with short straight cuts. Center first, work outward.
- 6Light it up
Drop in a battery LED pumpkin light and you're done.
Tools you'll need
For a advanced carve like this you'll want a linoleum cutter set, x-acto knife, peel tool, and pin transfer wheel. Here's the kit we reach for — start with whatever you already own.
Elmchee Pumpkin Carving Kit
13-piece kit with carrying case
Saws for the larger cutouts, plus a scoop for hollowing. Covers both jobs in one kit.
View on Amazon ↗
HOME MOST LED Pumpkin Lights
4-pack, battery operated, with remote + timer
Orange glow made for jack-o'-lanterns. The remote and timer light the pumpkin every evening without reaching inside.
View on Amazon ↗
Speedball 4131 Lino Cutter Set
Handle + 5 interchangeable cutters
Interchangeable cutters for peeling and shading the face. Useful for the finer details.
View on Amazon ↗
Community Pumpkin Carving Ideas
Carving ideas that use stencils like this one.
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AdvancedCrescent Moon & Small Bat
A small bat with scalloped wings glides across a big crescent moon in a classic Halloween night scene. Both shapes are shaved rather than pierced: the moon is peeled into a bright smooth crescent, the bat's wings are etched at a lighter depth, and its body stays as raised rind. A hard shading pattern that rewards patience; keep the moon's inner curve clean since that long sweep frames the entire design.
Expert / ProWitch Profile & Clawed Hands
A wicked witch in profile fills a glowing full-moon circle, her pointed hat, hooked nose, jutting chin, and two gnarled clawed hands all left in silhouette against the light. The moon disc is cut through around her, so every detail depends on the pumpkin you leave behind. This expert design demands patience: remove the background in small wedges and never lever your blade against the thin fingers, which are the most fragile part.
IntermediateScalloped-Wing Bat
A wide-winged bat hangs in the center of a glowing scalloped panel, its scalloped wing edges and small round eyes standing out in dark relief. You shave the skin away around the bat so the shape stays raw pumpkin while the shaved field lights up behind it. Keep your shading depth even across the whole panel so the backlight glows uniformly around those wing scallops.
AdvancedPointed-Abdomen Relief Spider
A boldly sculpted spider with a plump pointed abdomen, rounded head, and eight thick segmented legs that arch outward like a tarantula ready to strike. It carves as continuous-wall relief: you shave away skin at varying depths so the body and legs stand out dimensionally, with no openings pierced. This hard project rewards layered carving, so rough in the whole shape shallow first, then deepen around the legs to lift them off the background.
IntermediateRising Bat and Four Stars
A bold bat rises with scalloped wings spread wide while four small stars twinkle around it. The bat and every star are cut completely through the wall, turning the pumpkin into a glowing night-sky scene. The bat is one large connected opening, so it carves fast; poke a starter hole in the middle of the body and saw outward toward the wing scallops, finishing the little stars last.
AdvancedDark-Backed Crawling Spider
A big crawling spider with a dark rounded abdomen and eight bent legs radiating across the pumpkin's face. The design is peel-carved: pale skin is shaved away around each leg and along the body's edges so the spider reads in silhouette, with no pierced openings at all. The legs are long and thin, so score both edges of each one with a knife tip before shaving between the lines to keep the curves clean.