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View all stencils →About this stencil
A witch in a pointed hat rides her broom across the pumpkin, cloak trailing and broom bristles brushed out to the left as one bold glowing silhouette. The entire figure is cut through as a single connected opening, so the drama comes from the outline rather than fine interior detail. For this medium carve, start with the big body mass and work outward, cutting the hat point and individual bristle tips last so the surrounding rind supports your blade the whole way. 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.
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Beginner-friendlyBent Crown and Broad Brim
A classic witch hat fills the pumpkin face, its tall crown bending over at the tip above a broad, gently curved brim. The whole hat is removed as one pierced piece, making a big bright silhouette with no interior details to fuss over. As an easy single-cut design, just keep your blade angled slightly inward as you saw so the large panel pulls free without wedging.
IntermediateBent Hat with Nine Sparkles
A tall witch hat with a jauntily bent tip glows from the pumpkin, its wide oval brim carved as a separate opening beneath the crown so the solid hatband reads as a dark stripe between them. Around the hat, small circles and diamonds sparkle like scattered magic. This medium design hinges on that hatband bridge; cut the crown and brim as two independent openings and never saw across the band, then finish with the little sparkle shapes using a drill and detail knife.
Expert / ProWitch Profile & Clawed Hands
A wicked witch in profile fills a glowing full-moon circle, her pointed hat, hooked nose, jutting chin, and two gnarled clawed hands all left in silhouette against the light. The moon disc is cut through around her, so every detail depends on the pumpkin you leave behind. This expert design demands patience: remove the background in small wedges and never lever your blade against the thin fingers, which are the most fragile part.
AdvancedWitch Silhouette Pumpkin Stencil
A full-length witch silhouette fills this jack-o-lantern pumpkin stencil: pointed hat, flowing robes, and a broomstick are all rendered as pierced cut-through shapes, with the surrounding robe fabric left as solid orange pumpkin wall. On the lit pumpkin the broomstick and cloaked figure read as glowing orange forms against a dark background. The witch's hat brim is a narrow horizontal bridge; cut that piece last and work inward from the wider robe sections to keep it from snapping under tool pressure.
Expert / ProWitch on Broomstick Moon Pumpkin Stencil
A witch on a broomstick flies across a full moon in this expert pumpkin stencil, her pointed hat, flowing robes, and broom bristles silhouetted against a circular background of ragged cloud cutouts. The witch figure is solid orange skin set against the large glowing moon disc, and the cloud tears around the moon's edge are pierced through. Carve the small jagged cloud tears around the moon perimeter first, then carefully outline the witch silhouette, leaving her as an uncut island of skin inside the open moon.
AdvancedWitch on Moon Pumpkin Stencil
A tall oval moon dominates this hard witch pumpkin stencil, with a thin vertical broomstick cutting through the center and a small witch figure silhouetted at the bottom, surrounded by four-pointed star cutouts. The moon is carved as a large open oval, so the broom handle remains as a solid pumpkin bridge crossing the glow. Stars scattered inside and outside the moon add sparkling pinhole light around the scene. Cut the large moon oval first to establish the dominant glow, but do not sever the broomstick bridge at the center until the very last pass.