Carving pumpkin faces for Halloween

Here we go!

The pumpkin must be ripe and as large as possible and should not have any cracks or bruises .

Before carving
Prepare your work surface well, as there will be more waste than you think. Suitable tools include a knife, a saw blade or the carving sets available in shops.

Carving - this is how it works

1. First cut off the lid (the side with the stem) to get to the inside of the pumpkin. Choose a square shape to cut off the lid. This makes it easier to put the lid back on and makes it more stable.
2. Thenhollow out the pumpkin so that the wall is still 2 cm thick. An ice cream scoop is particularly suitable for hollowing out the pumpkin, but an angular spoon will also do.
3. The easiest way to carvea face or pattern into the pumpkin is to use a stencil . Stick the template - whether you have drawn it yourself or found it on the internet - onto your pumpkin and trace the lines with a black felt-tip pen.
4. When carving, work from the inside outwards to the edge. It is easier if you carve out the smaller parts first and then the larger ones. If you have cut off a little too much, you can try to reattach it with pins or toothpicks.

Children like the carvings. They can help choose the pumpkin and the templates, but should not carve the pumpkin unsupervised.