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View all stencils →About this stencil
Download the Sitting Cat pumpkin stencil as a free printable PDF, then tape the pattern to your pumpkin and trace the lines. A young sitting cat looks upward with closed contented eyes, a round head, pointed ears with inner-ear detail, whisker lines, a small nose, and a curling tail visible at the lower right. The design uses a mix of large pierced areas for the background and solid islands for the face features, creating a charming cat pumpkin stencil. The whisker-line cuts are the thinnest elements; score them lightly first and remove the pumpkin skin in a single clean slice rather than sawing back and forth to keep them from cracking. It works as a carving template for a Halloween jack-o'-lantern or a fall porch display. It is rated Advanced. Actual time varies with preparation, pumpkin size and experience. Fine details and narrow supports need careful planning. Follow the cutting and shading key in this design’s PDF.
Pumpkin size guide
- 🎃 Small (5 to 7"): print at 80%
- 🎃 Medium (7 to 10"): print at 100% (recommended)
- 🎃 Large (11 to 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 the pattern at 100% for a 7 to 10 inch pumpkin, 130% for 11 to 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 to 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 help it last longer.
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
- Transfer the stencil and start with the large background area surrounding the cat's body outline.
- Carve the outer ear shapes and the inner-ear void pieces next while the surrounding wall is solid.
- Cut the body outline sections, leaving the tail at lower right intact until after the main body is cleared.
- Work on the face: carve the closed-eye line slits with a single clean slice of a thin blade.
- Remove the nose island and the cheek-fur fringe shapes carefully.
- Finish with the tail curl, cutting from the outer tip inward toward where it meets the body.
Tools you'll need
For a advanced carve like this you'll want a fine-detail pumpkin saw, spoon / scoop, pin transfer tool, and small gouge if the pattern includes shading. Here's the kit we reach for, but 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.
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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.
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Speedball 4131 Lino Cutter Set
Handle + 5 interchangeable cutters
Interchangeable cutters for peeling and shading the face. Useful for the finer details.
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IntermediateWhisker Kitten Pumpkin Stencil
A sweet kitten face with pointed ear triangles, big almond eyes, a small triangle nose, extra-long whisker slits sweeping from each cheek, and a dainty curled smile beneath. All features are pierced through, and the long thin whiskers are what nudge this to medium difficulty. Cut each whisker as one smooth continuous stroke rather than sawing back and forth, and the slits will glow as fine clean lines.
IntermediateButton Nose Kitten Pumpkin Stencil
A sweet kitten face with big round glowing eyes, a tiny triangle nose, a bow-shaped smile, perky ears, and fine whisker slits fanning from each cheek. Every feature is a simple pierced cutout sized for small hands to trace and grown-ups to saw. Cut the narrow whisker slits first with a detail blade while the wall is stiff, then open the larger eyes and mouth.
IntermediatePearl the Purring Cat Pumpkin Stencil
A sweet cat face fills the pumpkin with big rounded eyes, a tiny triangle nose over a curled smiling muzzle, pointed ears, and three whiskers flaring from each cheek. The large eye openings keep their pupils as attached tabs of skin, which is the trickiest part of this medium carve. Cut around each pupil tab slowly and leave its connecting bridge generous so the eyes keep their expression.
IntermediateWinky Whiskers Pumpkin Stencil
A playful cat face built from two pointed ears, one large round eye and one smaller one, a tiny nose, and three long whisker slits flaring out on each side. All the shapes are pierced through so the ears, mismatched eyes, and whiskers glow in a wide band across the pumpkin. Cut the skinny whisker slits first while the wall is strongest, then open the bigger eye holes.
IntermediateSweet Whiskers Pumpkin Stencil
A sweet cat face rendered entirely in surface shading: pointed ears with inner triangles, wide eyes with crescent pupils, a small nose, a curved smile, and eight long whiskers fanning across the cheeks. Nothing is pierced through, so you shave away just the orange skin and let the pale flesh show the design. At medium difficulty, keep your scraping depth even along the thin whisker lines so they all glow with the same brightness.
Expert / ProFluffy Kitten Pumpkin Stencil
A wide-eyed, fluffy kitten sits upright with its front paws tucked forward in this expert-level pumpkin stencil. The fur is rendered as dozens of short jagged cut-outs that texture the entire head and body, with two large round eyes and a small tongue-out mouth pierced through in the face. Lit from within, the cat's face glows clearly while the fur detail creates a speckled halo of light around it. Cut all the inner facial features before the outer fur ring, since the edge fringe is fragile and removing those last keeps the face from shifting while you work.