How the ghost stencil carves
The ghost has two tones. Its body is gray, so you shave it: peel off the skin and a thin layer of flesh without going through the wall. Its two eyes and the round “boo” mouth are black, so you cut them right through. With the candle lit, the mouth and eyes shine bright yellow and the body glows a softer orange around them. Switch the preview to Lit pumpkin to see it before you print.
At the default medium size the stencil prints about 5.3 × 6 inches on one page. The summary under the preview counts three holes and no bridges: the eyes and mouth are solid shapes, so there is nothing inside them to fall out.
Order of work
- Tape the stencil on and poke along the outline of the body and the three holes.
- Cut the eyes and the mouth first, while the wall around them is still full thickness and strong.
- Score the outline of the body, including the zigzag hem, then shave inward from the line.
- Thin the inside wall behind the body with a scraper so more light gets through the shaved area.
Making it your own
Pick a bigger size for a large carving pumpkin, or Small for a pie pumpkin: the three holes are big enough to carve at 4 inches. For a ghost family, print the same stencil at two sizes and carve one on a big pumpkin and one on a small one. For a ghost with a name under it, carve the ghost first and then make a second stencil with the Text tab.
The design on this page
| Design | Difficulty | Tones | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ghost | Easy | Cut and shave | Large shapes, few pieces, nothing floating |
All designs were drawn for this site. Every other design is one click away under All in the picker, and the pumpkin stencil maker also turns photos into stencils.