How to Carve the Perfect Pumpkin

Yes it’s that time of year again where we don our spooky costumes, eat too many treats and have fun carving our traditional pumpkins. It can sometimes be tricky to find the right technique and design to safely achieve your desired look so we have put together these 5 simple steps to carving the perfect Halloween Pumpkin this year.

Select Your Pumpkin

Whether you are picking your pumpkin from a local farm, your own allotment or the supermarket it is important to select the correct freshness, size and shape for your design. If you are opting for an elaborate design then you will need a larger pumpkin, but just remember that the bigger the pumpkin the longer it will take to carve. Firstly try to find a pumpkin that is free from any blemishes, bruises or nicks to the outside of the skin and then check that the stem is firm and not bendy. Give the pumpkin a light squeeze; it should feel firm and sturdy and not soft or tender. Finally give the Pumpkin a slight tap and listen for a hollow sound that will indicate that it is ripe and ready for carving.

Prepare Your Pumpkin

Firstly you need to cut a hole in your pumpkin, for many years we have all been cutting the lids (stalk ends) off our pumpkins however it is far simpler and more effective to cut your hole in the base of your chosen pumpkin. This will allow the pumpkin to sit flat when displayed and also means that you can place the pumpkin down over a candle instead of having to place the light down inside. Once this is done you need to take a large spoon and/or your hands and remove all of the seeds and pulp until the inside is clean (don’t remove any of the flesh as this will make your pumpkin walls too thin. To make your pumpkin last longer, soak your pumpkin in a bucket of water with 1 or 2 teaspoons of bleach overnight to prevent bacteria from growing on its carved surfaces.

Choose Your Design

If you are doing a simple ‘face’ design on your pumpkin then you can draw the face directly onto the pumpkin with a permanent marker and shade in any areas that are to be cut out. This is a fun step that children can enjoy helping with even if they are too young to actually help with the carving process. For more elaborate designs then it helps to have a template of the image you wish to carve. There are a multitude of templates available in stores and to download online and vary from beginners to expert level designs. Once you have chosen your template tape the image to the front of your pumpkin and trace around the edges of the image with a toothed roller (available in all cheap pumpkin carving kits) or use the end of a nail to create a dotted outline. Once you have ensured that you have outlined all of the image and its smaller details you can remove the template.

Get Carving!

Now it’s time to get your artistic juices flowing and begin to carve your design. It is important that you have the right tools to ensure your safety; it’s not a good idea to simply use a kitchen knife or Stanley knife for this step. You can pick up pumpkin carving tool kits in the majority of supermarkets and pound stores in the lead up to Halloween and they provide small saws in varying sized as well as scoops and hole punches providing great value for money. Alternatively you can buy a high quality carving set that will cost much more but can be brought out year after year. Slowly begin to carve your pumpkin use long and sharp strokes to follow the outlines and always carve larger pieces first and leave smaller and more intricate details until last until your entire design is complete

Light It Up!

The final stage of your carving process is to add some light to your pumpkin if you prefer a traditional candle then use a short and wide church style candle and place your pumpkin down on top of it so it fits through the hole. Always ensure that the flame is not too close to the top of the pumpkin to avoid it burning (and smelling disgusting). For a safer option (particularly when children are around) then select some LED tea lights that will replicate the same glow as a natural flame or for added fun used coloured lights in spooky green or eye catching blue and sit back and admire your artistic work!

For more ideas on designs and techniques for carving your pumpkins, take a look at our latest Pinterest board - Pinterest - Pumpkin Carving

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!