Free Pumpkin carving patterns for Halloween

This list is a few years old and some links might be dead. You might want to look at a more current version by clicking here.

In what’s become sort of a tradition around here, I present to you a list of patterns for Jack-o-Lanterns. Most or all of these were free for use when I found them.

• Zombie Pumpkins — One of my favorites. Four free patterns, or buy a membership (starting at $5) for access to over 150 free patterns ranging from the complex to the simple. Movie monsters, video game characters, Tim Burton’s characters, and more.
• About.com’s Family Crafts - Thirteen simple patterns that should be easier to carve, but with good results. See also some photos of these and other pumpkin carvings.
• Kim’s free pumpkin patterns - A collection of 8 classic face patterns. The dredlocks pattern is clever.
• PumpkinGlow’s America patterns — Eight patriotic patterns. Liberty Bell, eagle, Mt. Rushmore and more.

• PumpkinGlow’s Cartoons — 36 cartoon patterns.
• PumpkinGlow UN-Halloween and bonus patterns — List of religious, sports, celebrity, and other non-traditional patterns.
• BHG Bat pumpkin — A hanging bat with glass beads for glowing eyes.
• BHG Mr Mummy — A clever mummy pumpkin.
• BHG Stencil Maker — Create your own stencils.
• BHG Stencils — 38 stencils, but they’re presented one per a page, making it a bit of a drag to go through them all.
• BHG’s Pumpkin Carving site — Towers, topiaries, tims, pumpkin carving projects, and lots of creative genius from Better Homes and Gardens.
• Kraft Foods Pumpkin Place — Six traditional patterns.
• JP’s Jammin Pumpkins freebies — Four free patterns. Get a membership, starting at $2 for access to dozens more including lots of current TV, movie, cartoon, and video game characters (Master Chief pumpkin anyone?), and some clever original designs.
• Halloween Pumpkins — Scans of some commercial patterns, the kind you find in the books in craft stores. These patterns may still be copyrighted, so if you can still find them in stores, buy the book and support the copyright holder instead of downloading these.
• Fabulous Foods patterns — 15 original patterns
• Pumpkin Lady — 53 free patterns, many of them classic-style pumpkin faces with a creative twist. She also sells an ebook filled with more patterns for $5.
• FamilyFun.com’s Halloween Fright Site — 11 creative pumpkins for families and younger kids. Also has projects that use more of the pumpkin to create sculptures and figures.