Instead of a face, a bat spreads its wings across your pumpkin. This pumpkin carving template is a silhouette, so by candlelight it looks like a shadow flying across the wall.
Why the Bat Pumpkin?
If you don't want a classic jack o lantern face, here's a design that belongs on Halloween night. The big, clear shape reads well even from the end of the walkway. It looks best on a wide pumpkin that gives the wings room.
Pointed wing tips need a steady wrist.
A design instead of a face, a nice change of pace.
The large shape is easy to recognize from a distance.
The wings need space, so pick a wide pumpkin.
✂️ 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 swarm of bats
Carve several pumpkins in different sizes and group them together so it looks like a whole swarm. LED tea lights keep everything safe. For a window version, color the bat on tracing paper in dark purple.
📦 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)Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What age can kids help?
Kids from about 4 can color the sheet and scoop the pumpkin. Poking the wing edges takes a steady hand, so around age 7 and up 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 Fledermaus-Kürbis.