Pumpkin Carving Stencil: Spider Pumpkin

Silhouette of a spider with eight legs hanging from a thread – printable pumpkin carving stencil

Difficulty: ●●● Tricky · 🦇 Halloween Shapes

On a thin thread this spider lowers itself from the top of the pumpkin, all eight legs spread wide. The pumpkin carving stencil is a silhouette and a fun challenge once you have some practice.

Why the Spider Pumpkin?

The spider shows how much impact a single design can have. The vertical thread makes the pumpkin look taller, and the legs give the light lots of fine paths to shine through. It suits anyone who likes to tinker and wants a design without a face.

⭐
Difficulty 3
Eight thin legs and a long thread take patience.
🕷️
Silhouette
A spider instead of a face, a bold design.
📏
Tall and narrow
The thread stresses height, ideal for tall pumpkins.
👨‍👧
For experienced carvers
Best with an adult who has carved before.

✂️ 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
1
Cut the lid
Cut a lid at the top, angling the knife inward so the lid won’t fall in.
2
Scoop it out
Scrape out the seeds and pulp – on the face side, thin the wall to about 3/4 inch.
3
Tape on the stencil
Trim the stencil, snip the edges so it hugs the curve, and tape it in place.
4
Poke the outlines
Poke holes through paper and skin along every black shape, about 1/8–1/4 inch apart.
5
Carve
Remove the paper and cut along the dots – small shapes first, big shapes last.
6
Light it up
Pop in an LED tea light, put the lid back on – and turn off the lights!
💡 Tip for this stencil: Cut the body first, then the legs in pairs from the inside out, and the long thread last in short pieces. Don't pull thin lines in one stroke or the skin may tear.
ℹ️ Black areas get cut out; everything white stays. The dashed line just shows roughly where the pumpkin ends – don’t cut along it.

⚠️ 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 haunted window

Add a bit of fake cobweb nearby or put a Ghost Pumpkin beside it, and the scene feels like an abandoned house. Orange LED light makes the spider stand out clearly. For a window version, color the spider black on tracing paper and leave the background orange.

📦 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?
Kids from about 5 can color and scoop out the pumpkin. Because of the thin legs, poking 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 Spinnen-Kürbis.