BAT PUMPKINS
Bat pumpkin carving ideas and free stencils
A bat is a good first silhouette: the shape is wide, flat, and recognizable from its outline alone. Cut the bat out so it glows, or cut a moon around it so the bat shows dark. The scalloped edge of the wings is the only detail that needs care.
Free stencils to print
Each one prints at actual size on Letter or A4 and passed our carving checks, so every piece stays attached. Black areas are cut away and glow.
Ideas
One big bat
Draw a single bat with its wings spread across most of the carving side and cut the whole shape out. Lit, it glows as a bright bat shape, and the scallops on the lower wing edge are what make it read as a bat and not a bird.
Bat across the moon
Cut a large circle and leave a bat uncut in the middle of it, joined to the moon's edge at the wingtips. The bat stays dark against a glowing moon. The wingtips double as bridges, so the bat can't fall out.
Flock of small bats
Scatter five to nine small bats around the pumpkin, bigger near the bottom and smaller near the top, as if they are flying away. Small metal cookie cutters tapped in with a rubber mallet make matching bats quickly.
Bats from a jack-o-lantern
Carve a simple face on the front, then add a few small bats flying out of the top of the head toward the stem. It turns a classic face into a scene.
Hanging bat
Draw a bat upside down with its wings folded around its body, hanging from a short line at the top. The folded shape is compact, so it is easy to cut on a small pumpkin.
Bat with glowing eyes
Leave a large bat uncut and cut the background around it, then drill two small holes for eyes. The bat is dark, and only the eyes and the background glow.
Drilled bat wing pattern
Outline a bat with drilled dots instead of a cut line. It keeps the wall strong. Kids can pick where the dots go while an adult does the drilling.
Carving tips
- Keep the ears as two short, wide triangles. Tall thin ears break off the moment you push the piece out.
- Cut the scallops on the wing edge with short strokes into each point, not around it. A small serrated kit saw turns tight inside curves better than a knife.
- If you cut a moon around a dark bat, leave at least two bridges, usually the wingtips, joining the bat to the rim.
- A bat that fills the side reads from the street. Many small bats look better up close, so place those pumpkins near the door.
- Gaps between the wing bones look good on paper but weaken the wing. Etch them instead of cutting.
More help: Easy pumpkin carving ideas.
Carve something that's yours
CarveKin also makes a pattern from your own photo: your dog, your cat, your kid. We draw a few designs, repair them so every piece stays attached, and you print the one you like at the size you choose. One pattern is $4.99.
Make a pattern from your photo
More pumpkin carving ideas
Stencils were drawn from AI-made sample images and illustrations. Glowing views are digital previews, not photos of carved pumpkins.