Similar to This
View all stencils →About this stencil
Two enormous staring eyes dominate this design, each with a pupil tab left attached at the bottom rim, a curved brow arcing above, and short wedge-shaped rays radiating around the outside like a nervous twitch of light. There is no mouth, which makes the gaze even more unsettling. In this medium carve the pupil tabs are the key detail; cut around each pupil carefully so its bridge to the lower eyelid stays at least a half inch wide. 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
- 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 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.
Related stencils
Carvers who liked this one also downloaded these.
Expert / ProSpoked Eyes and Diamond Halos
Two enormous hypnotic eyes built as spoked wheels, each iris divided by radial spokes around a glowing hub, ringed by halos of small diamond and teardrop cutouts with arched brow fans above. Every spoke gap, diamond, and teardrop is pierced individually, creating a mesmerizing lace of light. An expert carve with dozens of tiny openings; use a fine detail saw and rotate the pumpkin, not your wrist, on the curves.
AdvancedAlmond Eyes and Twenty Tears
Two huge almond eyes stare straight out, each ringed by fanned lash bars above and a spray of teardrop cuts below, with attached pupils floating in the centers. The eye whites, brow strokes, and roughly twenty teardrops are all pierced, leaving the pupils and lash ribs as connected shell. This one earns its hard rating on the thin lash bars, so cut every slot outward from the eye and support the wall with your palm.
AdvancedBarred Eyes and Diamond Dots
A wildly ornate astonished face: two huge round eyes split by vertical bars, a tall oval mouth gaping in shock, and a halo of diamonds, dots, and curved flourishes radiating in every direction. All of it is cut through, from the barred eyes to the smallest accent dot, so the whole pumpkin erupts in patterned light. Rated hard for its piece count, work from the center outward and leave the outer diamonds and dots for the final pass.
Beginner-friendlyBare Tree with Forked Branches
A gnarled bare tree glows from a wide split trunk up through forked, twisting branches, the classic haunted-forest silhouette in reverse. The entire tree shape is cut through as one connected opening, so light traces every crooked limb. It rates easy because the cuts are bold, but the branch tips narrow quickly; cut from each tip back toward the trunk and remove the waste in small pieces so no limb snaps off.
Beginner-friendlyRound Eyes and Six Mouth Slots
Two big blank circle eyes stare out beneath short angled brow slits, while the wide mouth is broken into six upright rectangular slots that glow like stitched or fenced-off teeth. Everything is cut through, and the plain round eyes with no pupils give the face its unsettling, vacant charm. The vertical mouth bars keep this an easy carve; cut every slot top-down in the same direction so the strips between them stay straight and even.
Beginner-friendlyThree Tombstones Under a Moon
A miniature midnight cemetery: three rounded tombstones of different heights glow along the bottom while a crescent moon and a scatter of small round stars shine above them. Every element is a simple cut-through, and the plain shapes make the scene read clearly from across the street. It is an easy carve; drill the little star dots first while the wall is still solid, then saw out the tombstones and moon.