Hollow eyes, a slim nose and two full rows of teeth: with this skeleton your front porch becomes a Halloween stage. The free printable pumpkin stencil is a rewarding project for carvers with a bit of practice.
Why the Skeleton Pumpkin?
The big eye sockets and the many teeth give the face a classic skeleton look without getting gory. It looks dramatic in the dark and a little funny by daylight. It's worth trying if you want a more demanding design for your main pumpkin.
Lots of small teeth with thin bridges take patience.
The big eye sockets are recognizable at a glance.
Both rows of teeth shine nicely in the dark.
Expect about an hour of carving.
✂️ How to Carve a Pumpkin with a Stencil
🧰 What You Need
- A pumpkin (carving pumpkin, or a small pie pumpkin for little faces)
- The printed stencil (100 % for a medium pumpkin, about 10–12 inches)
- Tape and scissors
- A big spoon or ice cream scoop for scooping
- A poking tool, toothpick or thick nail
- A small serrated knife or carving kit (adults only)
- An LED tea light
Cut a lid at the top, angling the knife inward so the lid won’t fall in.
Scrape out the seeds and pulp – on the face side, thin the wall to about 3/4 inch.
Trim the stencil, snip the edges so it hugs the curve, and tape it in place.
Poke holes through paper and skin along every black shape, about 1/8–1/4 inch apart.
Remove the paper and cut along the dots – small shapes first, big shapes last.
Pop in an LED tea light, put the lid back on – and turn off the lights!
⚠️ Safety: knives and carving tools belong in grown-up hands. Kids can pick and color the stencil, scoop out the pumpkin and, with supervision, poke along the outlines. Use LED tea lights instead of real candles.
Idea: A skeleton by the gate
Set the Skeleton Pumpkin on a small table by the entrance and put a Vampire Pumpkin next to it. A white LED tea light suits the bone look, and there's no open flame. For a window version, print the stencil on tracing paper and color the teeth pale yellow.
📦 All 30 Stencils in One PDF
Can’t decide? Download every pumpkin face as one PDF (30 pages, A4) and take your time choosing the perfect face for your pumpkin.
📄 Download the all-in-one PDF (30 stencils)More stencils from this group:
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What age can kids help?
From about 5, kids can color the sheet and scoop out the inside. Poking the many small teeth makes sense from around 9 with supervision; adults do the cutting.
Will the stencil fit my pumpkin?
Printed at 100 %, the face is about 6.7 inches wide and fits a medium pumpkin (10–12 inches). For small pumpkins, scale to 70–80 % when printing; for giant pumpkins, print on tabloid/A3 or scale up to 140 %.
Do I need to print the black areas?
The black areas show what gets cut out. To save ink, choose “draft” or “ink saver” in your print settings – the outlines will still be easy to see.
Is the stencil free?
Yes, all carving stencils and coloring pages on PureSketchy are free for personal use, preschools and schools.
Is there a German version?
Yes! You can find the German version at Skelett-Kürbis.