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Two plump fish swim toward each other with a rising trail of six bubbles between them and two wavy water slots rippling underneath. The fish bodies, bubbles, and wave lines are all cut through, turning the pumpkin into a glowing underwater scene. A relaxed medium carve for anglers and lake families; drill the bubbles in ascending size order, then saw the fish, and finish with the long shallow wave curves. 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 55-85 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 six unequal bubbles. Cut all six regions marked 1 between and above the fish. Keep the uneven sizes and zigzag arrangement: three high bubbles, two between the fish and one lowest bubble above the waves.
- Cut both inward-facing fish. Cut both regions marked 2. Follow each pointed head, round body and fan-shaped tail. The left fish faces right and sits higher; the right fish faces left. Support each plug before finishing the tail edges.
- Trace both low wave openings. Cut both regions marked 3 below the fish. Keep the left wave higher and the right wave lower. Follow their thin sweeping curves and tapered ends, preserving the white gaps around each separate wave.
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
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Beginner-friendlyRound Fish and Three Bubbles
A plump fish silhouette with a notched triangle tail swims across the pumpkin, trailed by three round bubbles rising toward the stem. The fish body and each bubble cut completely through, giving anglers a bold, glowing catch with almost no fine detail to fuss over. An easy pattern; remove the large body in two pieces split at the tail notch, then drill or carve the bubbles smallest to largest.
IntermediateFan Tail Fish with Low Notches
A plump fantail goldfish glides across the pumpkin as one big glowing silhouette, with a rounded body, sweeping double tail, and small notched fins along the belly. The entire fish is pierced through in a single connected shape, so it lights up like an aquarium at night. At medium difficulty the low fin notches are the detail work; cut the broad body and tail first, then nick out the small fin points with short careful strokes.
IntermediateThree Fish Above Two Waves
Three fish swim in a loose diagonal school above two rolling wave bands, with a trail of round bubbles rising toward the stem. Every element is cut through: fish bodies with notched tails, the long curved waves, and the bubble dots all become glowing openings. The waves are the longest cuts, so brace the pumpkin and saw them in smooth continuous strokes; poke the bubbles out first with a round tool while the wall is solid.
IntermediateCurled Dolphin Profile
A leaping dolphin caught mid-arc, its curved body, pointed snout, dorsal fin, and sweeping tail all glowing through one sculpted cut-through opening, with an intact rind island shaping the pectoral fin and belly. The interior island is the key feature: cut the outer outline in sections and leave the connecting bridges to the island untouched until the very end, then trim them carefully to final width.
AdvancedGoldfish with Flowing Fins
A fancy fantail goldfish glides across the pumpkin with billowing fins, a sweeping double tail, and a body covered in overlapping scale rows. This is a continuous-wall shading design: the skin is shaved away at varying depths so fins glow softly and each scale reads in relief, with no pierced holes. Rated hard for its texture work, it goes best if you outline the fish first, clear the background layer, then carve the scales one row at a time.
AdvancedSeahorse with a Ribbed Fan
An elegant seahorse posed upright with a ridged, segmented body, a ribbed fan fin on its back, and a tail that coils into a tight spiral. This is a shading pattern: you carve away skin at varying shallow depths to sculpt the plates, fin ribs, and curl while the wall stays solid. Rated hard for its fine detail, it rewards a light touch; work the tiny tail spiral with a small gouge last.