How to Carve the Bottom of a Pumpkin

Scrape out the guts of the pumpkin after you carve out the bottom.

Carving the bottom of a pumpkin has advantages over cutting off the top. A bottom-carved pumpkin has a neater appearance and is safer to light than a top-carved pumpkin because the candle sits on a stable, flat surface. Gut your pumpkin and scrape the inside to remove excess pulp on the wall and then carve your designs in the shell. When your pumpkin is ready for display, place a candle on a surface, light it, and then place the bottom opening of the pumpkin over the top of the candle.

Things You'll Need

• Newspaper
• Serrated knife
• Pen

Instructions

1. Place newspaper onto a sturdy table to catch pulp and drippings from the pumpkin.

2. Place the pumpkin, on its side, on top of the newspaper. Roll it around to find the flattest surface of the pumpkin so it will not roll easily. The back side of a pumpkin is the side that sat in the pumpkin patch, and this side is flattened, lumpy and dirty, and is the best side to lay the pumpkin on.

3. Place a serrated knife through the bottom of the pumpkin. Start about 1 inch to 2 inches from the center bottom. You want to cut the opening large enough to fit your hand through for gutting the pumpkin. Draw a dotted-line circle ahead of time with a pen to use as a guideline. Push the knife straight through the flesh and begin carving the circle, pushing the knife up and down through the flesh using a sawing motion.

4. Remove the bottom piece. If the piece does not remove easily, place the knife back into the carved area and carve around the circle again. Dispose of the bottom piece.

Tips & Warnings

• Keep a tight grip on the pumpkin with your free hand while carving.

• Use a very strong and sturdy serrated knife for carving.

• Carve slowly and with caution to avoid injury.

• Carve facing the serrated blade away from your body and hands to avoid injury.

References

• Southern Living: Pumpkin Carving Directions
• The Morning News: How to Carve a Pumpkin