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A show-stopping sunflower with two rings of layered petals around a big textured seed head, flanked by veined leaves below. This expert shading piece uses multiple depths: petals shaved smooth, petal shadows cut deeper where layers overlap, and the center stippled with dozens of tiny seed dimples. Rough in all the petal shapes at one shallow depth first, then return to carve the overlaps, saving the seed texture for last. This design is rated Expert / Pro and takes most carvers around 240 minutes from trace to glow. Sculpting-grade work. Three or more depth layers, fine detail.
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 continuous-wall shading design: you never cut all the way through the pumpkin. On the printable pattern, light gray regions get just the skin shaved off for a faint glow, dark gray regions are scraped deeper so more light comes through, and white areas keep their skin untouched. The numbers give you the safest working order. Plan on about 3-4 hours 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 wall to about 1 inch behind the design so light can pass through the shaded areas. Tape the pattern on (snip small darts in the paper so it hugs the curve) and transfer the outlines by poking dots along every line. Work with a loop tool, clay ribbon scraper, or the back of a spoon rather than a saw.
Shading order
- Establish the whole sunflower. Shallow-shave every gray region. Examples 1 appear on the seed dome and narrow stem. Preserve white gaps, the unequal petal lengths and two broad low leaves. Leave the pumpkin background intact.
- Deepen the pointed petals. Deepen eighteen dark-gray petal faces: eleven main petals and seven rear tips. Broad examples are marked 2. Keep the shallow rims between overlapping petals; avoid merging neighboring deeper faces.
- Refine the seed dome and curl. Deepen all small unnumbered seed glints and the three curved lower-left flutes, with one flute marked 3. The flutes distinguish this sunflower from a plain round seed disk. Preserve all shallow separators.
- Model the two lower leaves. Deepen both dark-gray leaf faces marked 4, retaining their light-gray rims and the shallow stem. Work gradually and inspect with an LED. No part of the design is cut through.
Check your progress often: set a bright LED inside and dim the room lights, and the glow shows exactly where to scrape deeper. Go slowly near thin spots and stop before the wall flexes; a pierced wall cannot be undone.
Tools you'll need
For a expert / pro carve like this you'll want a full ribbon tool set, clay sculpting loops, x-acto knife, and dremel (optional). 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 ↗
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Eight oval petals radiate from a dotted center like a stylized sunflower, with three small seed holes in the middle and a leafy stem opening anchoring the bloom below. Each petal is a pierced oval, and the skin spokes left between them hold the flower together while letting light pour through. Cut opposite petals in pairs, top then bottom, left then right, so the spokes never take uneven strain.
Expert / ProSunflower with Layered Petals
A lush sunflower filling the pumpkin face, with a densely dotted seed head ringed by two overlapping layers of pointed petals and broad leaves fanning out below. It is carved entirely as continuous-wall relief, shaving the skin at multiple depths so petals overlap realistically with no pierced openings. As an expert project, plan your levels first: deepest around the outer background, shallower between petal layers, and the seed dome nearly untouched.
IntermediateSunflower with Eleven Petals
A tall sunflower blooms across the whole pumpkin face, with eleven glowing petals radiating around a dark seed disc dotted with tiny pinprick holes, plus a straight stem and two leaves below. The petals, stem, and leaves are shaved to the flesh rather than pierced, while the seed dots are drilled through for sparkle. For this medium shading design, etch all the petal outlines first, then peel each petal evenly and finish by drilling the seed dots in a loose spiral.
AdvancedSixteen-Petal Sunflower
A sixteen-petal sunflower blooms across the whole face of the pumpkin, complete with a dotted seed head, layered leaves, and a curving stem. This is a skin-shave design: you peel the skin inside every petal and leaf while leaving orange outlines and vein lines untouched, so no light shines through. Sharpen your tools before starting and shave the big petals in long strokes from base to tip for smooth, even texture.
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Four spotted woodland toadstools cluster among curling leaves and grasses, carved in deep relief so the caps, gills, and stems stand out from the shell in true sculptural layers. Nothing is pierced; the design is built entirely by shaving and sculpting the wall to different depths, with the tall center mushroom's gilled underside as the showpiece. Rough out the deepest background first, then refine the gill lines last with a V-gouge while the ridges are still thick.
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Four spotted toadstools of staggered heights grow from a glowing patch of grass, the tallest cap arching over three smaller companions. This expert shading piece uses multiple depths: gills under the big cap are shaved brightest, stems and caps sit mid-tone, and the spots are left as darker raised dots. Map your depth levels before touching a tool, and carve the delicate gill lines with a fine gouge in single confident strokes.