WITCH PUMPKINS
Witch pumpkin carving ideas and stencils
Most witch pumpkins use one of three shapes: a witch flying on a broom across the moon, a pointed hat, or a witch's face with a long nose and crooked smile. The broom silhouette is the most recognizable; the hat is the easiest.
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
Witch flying across the moon
Cut a large round moon so it glows and leave the witch on her broom as a dark silhouette in front of it. Join her hat, back and broom to the edge of the moon so the figure stays attached.
Glowing witch silhouette
Cut the witch and broom themselves so they glow on the dark pumpkin. Draw the broom handle and bristles at least a finger wide so they read clearly when lit.
Pointed witch hat
Cut a tall hat with a wide brim and a bent tip. It is a single shape, quick to carve, and reads instantly from across the street.
Witch face
Cut narrow slanted eyes, a long hooked nose and a crooked grin with a gap tooth. Etch a few wrinkles or a wart to add character without more cutting.
Bubbling cauldron
Cut a round cauldron with short legs and cut circles of different sizes rising above it as bubbles. Drill the smallest bubbles.
Hat on the pumpkin
Carve a simple witch face, then set a real or paper witch hat on top in place of the lid. The hat does the work, so the face can stay simple.
Witch and black cat
Leave a cat sitting on the end of the broom as part of the dark silhouette. Keep its tail attached to the broom so it is not a thin, separate piece.
Green-lit witch
Carve a witch face and light it with a green battery LED. The color change is often enough to make it read as a witch.
Carving tips
- Leave broom bristles as a few thick wedges, not many thin lines. Thin bristles crack when you cut between them.
- On a moon scene, keep the witch connected to the moon's edge in at least two or three places.
- Check the profile on paper first. A clear nose, hat and broom outline is what makes a witch recognizable.
- When the hat stays as pumpkin, as in a moon scene, cut around the brim last. It is long and thin and the piece most likely to crack.
- Tall pumpkins suit a standing witch or a tall hat; round pumpkins suit a moon scene.
More help: Photograph a jack-o'-lantern at night.
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.