Hollow out and carve pumpkin: The best tips and tricks

Hollowing out and carving a pumpkin requires a few tips and tricks. The big difficulty is to cut open the hard pumpkin without hurting yourself. We have summarized for you how this works.

Hollowing out a pumpkin: How to carve a Halloween pumpkin

Have as large and orange a pumpkin as possible on hand. If you take smaller pumpkins, you can combine them in a nicely arranged composition.

• Smaller pumpkins tend to be more difficult to carve. Take larger ones especially if you are crafting with children.

• In larger pumpkins, the flesh is softer. This makes it easier to detach.

• To hollow out and carve a pumpkin, you’ll need a good box cutter, pillar candles or tea lights, gloves, vinegar or hair spray, and a waterproof felt-tip pen. A large spoon or ice cream scoop will also help with the process.

• Remove the lid first. This is best done with a jigsaw.

• When cutting the lid, you should guide the jigsaw or knife inward at an angle so that the lid does not fall into the pumpkin later.

• Leave the pumpkin green on the lid as a handle. Drill an additional small hole in the lid that will later serve as a ventilation hole.

• Then remove the pumpkin flesh with a spoon or ice cream scoop. Leave only a rim about two inches wide.

• You can use the pumpkin flesh to make soup or pumpkin pie.

• In addition, dry the seeds. You can reseed them next spring or roast them in a pan and enjoy them as a small meal in between.

How to carve a pumpkin face

Larger designs are easier to carve than smaller ones. Therefore, keep in mind that the smaller the pumpkin, the harder it will be to cut open and carve.

• You can either draw a face freehand on the pumpkin or use a stencil.

• Once the face is drawn on, you can carefully use a box cutter to carve out the individual elements of the face.

• When you start with the mouth, you can better estimate the proportions of the eyes.

• To make carving out easier, you can dot the painted lines with the tip of a knife, for example.

• Fine lines are best done with a linoleum knife. With this technique, you should only score the surface, which is the orange pumpkin skin. The pumpkin flesh should remain undamaged.