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Six long curving windows sweep around a central hub, recreating the swirling panel seams of a volleyball across the pumpkin's face. The curved slots are cut through while the seam lines between them stay as bold ribs of skin, so the lit pumpkin reads as a glowing ball. On this medium carve, remove the slots one at a time and alternate sides as you go, keeping stress on the curved ribs balanced until the last piece comes out. This design is rated Intermediate and takes most carvers around 75 minutes from trace to glow. Comfortable knife handling required. Small details and curves.
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
This is a cut-through stencil: the dark numbered regions on the printable pattern are the pieces you remove, and everything white stays attached. The numbers give you the safest carving order, and the steps below walk through them one by one. Plan on about 60-90 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
- Open the two left windows. Cut both regions marked 1 on the left. Follow the thin outer crescent and the taller inner opening. Preserve the broad curved white divider between them and its connection to the center.
- Trace the two upper-right windows. Cut both regions marked 2 above and to the right of the central white junction. Keep their different curving edges and pointed outer ends. Preserve the white band between them and the broad central material.
- Finish both lower windows. Cut both regions marked 3 beneath the center. Follow the broad lower-left arc and the narrower low-right arc. Keep the curved divider intact and leave all six openings separate. Support each plug before its final cut.
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 region is open, wipe the cut edges dry and drop in a battery LED puck.
Tools you'll need
For a intermediate carve like this you'll want a x-acto knife, poker tool, ribbon scoop, and painter's tape. 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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IntermediateEight Curved Basketball Wedges
Eight curved wedge openings radiate from the center of the pumpkin, separated by ribs of shell that mimic the seams of a basketball. The wedges are all cut through, so the pumpkin itself becomes a glowing ball when lit. Keep the seam ribs a consistent width as you saw each wedge, and remove the wedge pieces gently by pushing from inside so the long curved ribs are not stressed.
IntermediateSix Curved Volleyball Openings
A volleyball rendered as six sweeping curved panels that spiral around a central point, with the rind seams left between them to form the ball's stitching. Each curved panel is cut fully through, so the whole ball blazes with light divided by dark swooping lines. The medium challenge is keeping those narrow seam strips intact; cut each panel from the center outward and support the wall as you go.
IntermediateFive Glowing Soccer Panels
A full soccer ball fills the pumpkin's face, with a dark pentagon at its center surrounded by glowing hexagonal panels and a bright outer ring. The panels are shaved down to the flesh rather than pierced, so the seam lines and center pentagon stay as raised skin while the shaved sections glow softly. For this medium shading design, score every seam line first, then peel each panel with a flat gouge, keeping depth even so all the panels light up uniformly.
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A game-night still life in deep relief: a tipped-over cup spills three pip-dotted dice across a carved tabletop while a rounded pawn stands nearby on its base. Everything is continuous-wall sculpting with no pierced holes, using multiple shaved depths to make the cup, dice faces, and pawn read as three-dimensional objects. As an expert relief carve, block in the deepest background plane first, then step each object forward in layers, cutting the tiny pips last with a round gouge.
Expert / ProSmiling Arches and Leaf Ring
A mischievous crescent-eyed grin packed with individual teeth sits inside a full ring of diamond and leaf-shaped cutouts, with dozens of small dots sparkling between them. Every element is pierced through, and the sheer number of tiny openings is what earns the expert rating. Drill all the dots first, then saw the border shapes, saving the big fragile mouth for the very end.
AdvancedLeaping Gymnast with Stars
A gymnast soars in a full split leap, one arm reaching skyward toward a trail of stars and a curved comet streak behind her. The whole figure is a shaded carve on a continuous wall, shaving the skin so the silhouette glows without any pierced holes, which preserves the slender arms and pointed toes. Shave the thin limbs in light passes with a small loop tool, since going too deep on those narrow lines risks breaking through.