Jack-o-Larry

Follow the simple instructions below and light Larry up for Halloween this year.

To make your own pattern:

If Larry doesn’t do it for you,you can also create your own notable-figure Jack-o-Latern this year. Simply take a typical photograph, preferably from a three-quarter angle, because the shadows are better. Reduce it to a pure black and white copy by repeatedly increasing the contrast on a photocopier, outlining the dark areas that are going to be uncarved, making sure they all connect to the outside of the pumpkin.

Pumpkin carving instructions:

Duct tape the pattern to the cleaned and hollowed pumpkin—it’s best to scrape the pumpkin walls down to a width of about three-quarters of an inch.

Transfer the pattern onto the pumpkin by punching along the lines of the cut out areas with a nail, golf tee, awl, or commercial pumpkin tool. Remove the tool, and if the outline is hard to see, rub flour into the punch holes, or outline with a waterproof pen.

Cut out the small areas first, saving the largest areas for the end, since you lose stability when you cut out large sections. Don’t get discouraged if it isn’t looking like anything, it never does until you light it.

Light up Larry with a diffused light source: a candle inside an opaque plastic cup, or a closet tap on light, positioning the light to one side so that it’s not directly behind any opening—you want the glowing pumpkin inside to light the openings evenly.