How to Use Printable Pumpkin Carving Patterns to Carve a Jack-o-Lantern

Pumpkin carving patterns are an easy way to create a template for carving a Jack-o-Lantern. Pumpkin carving patterns come in a wide array of designs, from animals, to sports team logos, to famous people and spooky Halloween images like ghosts and Jack-o-lantern faces, just to name a few. Pumpkin carving templates can be found at party stores with pumpkin carving tool kits, or they can be found online. There's many websites that offer free printable pumpkin carving patterns. Some pumpkin carving patterns are simple, while others are much more complex, so there's a pumpkin carving template out there to suite every ability. But how do you use a pumpkin carving pattern printed from the web or purchased at the store? Keep reading to learn how to use patterns for pumpkin carving!

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Pumpkin for carving
• Paper pumpkin carving pattern
• Straight pins
• Toothpick, metal skewer or small screwdriver
• Pumpkin carving tools
• Scissors

1. Select a printable pumpkin carving pattern online or purchase a pattern at the store. Remember when selecting a pumpkin carving pattern that the pattern must be suitable for the size pumpkin you've selected. Use a large Jack-o-lantern pattern for a large pumpkin and a small pumpkin carving pattern for a small pumpkin.

2. Cut off the excess paper surrounding the pumpkin carving pattern to make it easier to handle; this will also help when trying to position the pumpkin pattern in a way that ensures it's not crooked.

3. Use straight pins to pin the pumpkin carving pattern to the pumpkin in approximately half a dozen spots - place a pin on each of the corners and a pin on each edge.

4. Step back from the pumpkin and look at the position of the carving pattern to ensure it's straight. If the pattern appears crooked, adjust as necessary and re-pin it to the pumpkin.

5. Use a toothpick, metal skewer or a small screwdriver to trace the lines of the pumpkin carving pattern, which resembles a coloring book image. Apply moderate pressure when tracing in order to create indentations in the pumpkin skin.

6. Use pumpkin carving tools to carve the pumpkin along the lines that were created using the store-bought or printable pumpkin pattern as a guide.

Tips & Warnings

• Keep the pumpkin carving pattern on-hand as a guide and re-trace lines if necessary.
• If using thin paper (particularly in the case of a homemade pumpkin carving pattern that's printed off a Halloween website), the paper may tear when trying to trace the image onto the pumpkin skin. In these cases, it may be easier to poke holes (about 1/8 inch apart) into the pumpkin skin and carve the pumpkin by "connecting the dots." It's especially important to keep the Jack-o-lantern pattern nearby for reference when using dots to transfer the carving pattern onto the pumpkin.

Resources

• How to Preserve a Pumpkin for Halloween and Prevent Mold in a Jack-o-Lantern
• How to Decorate for a Halloween Party for Adults
• How to Find a Dog Halloween Costume
• Halloween Crafts and Activities for Kids
• Cheap Homemade Halloween Costume Ideas
• Top Animal Halloween Costumes for Kids and Adults

[cliasays]

on 9/1/2009 Neat! Thanks for sharing!