• Finally: A Hand-Drawn Kitchen Conversion Chart

    I’ve wanted to make a hand-drawn kitchen conversion chart for several years now. With a freshly remodeled kitchen on the horizon, I finally found the time to put one together! If you like my chart, feel free to download a printable version from the TPK Catalog (or make your own).

    Finally: A Hand-Drawn Kitchen Conversion Chart
    If you like this kitchen conversion chart, you can find an 8″ x 10″ and/or 5″ x 7″ printable version in the TPK Catalog.

    For a decade, I had a kitchen conversion chart affixed unceremoniously to my fridge. It was a free printable from some blog, and the design was far too cutesy and computerized for my taste! I have to admit, though, that having the chart at hand was incredibly useful. Now that we are (allegedly) in the home stretch of a kitchen remodel, I found the motivation to create an elegant hand-drawn conversion chart to decorate my kitchen.

    Hand-Drawn Kitchen Conversion Chart

    How I Made This Kitchen Conversion Chart

    To make my kitchen conversion chart, I started with the tedious part: hand-writing the measurements. That involved a lot of time with a ruler, a pencil, and a pointed pen + sumi ink. Once the ink dried, I erased any pencil grid lines. Then, I drew embellished title banners in pencil. After that, the piece needed a title, which I drafted in large, flourished calligraphy with a 55°-ish slant.

    Hand-Drawn Kitchen Conversion Chart
    All the measurements and titles on this chart were written using sumi ink, a straight pen, and a Nikko G nib. It’s important to use a medium-flex nib like the Nikko G if you’re writing small text or calligraphy! Otherwise, your strokes will be too wide.

    Once the illustration and banners drafts looked balanced, I inked over them with sumi ink. For parts that I wanted to be crisp and clean, I used a Nikko G nib. For the “Conversions” calligraphy and the calligraphy in the banners, I used a Brause EF66 nib to achieve more stroke drama.

    Inking a Hand-Drawn Kitchen Conversion Chart
    Nikko G nibs are great for illustrations, like the banners and the illustrated elements (teaspoon, water droplets, wheat) in this conversion chart. I prefer the more flexible Brause EF66 for calligraphy components.

    Once I’d drawn over my pencil lines with ink, I observed the chart from a distance and determined that it didn’t have quite enough contrast. To combat that, I added more shading to my banners and illustrations. After that, I erased any pencil guidelines — and voilà: an eye-catching kitchen conversion chart was born!

    Finally: A Hand-Drawn Kitchen Conversion Chart
    I plan to frame this kitchen conversion chart in a simple 8″x10″ gold frame. It will live on a floating shelf in my newly remodeled kitchen!

    Enjoying This Conversion Chart In Your Own Kitchen

    This kitchen conversion chart was a personal project that I worked on over the course of four evenings after my kids fell asleep. I didn’t intend to share it on the blog, thus the relative lack of progress photos. But, once I finished, I immediately wanted to share it with anyone else who feels a fondness for conversion charts! This is the only hand-drawn kitchen conversion chart I’ve seen. (It seems like all of the charts available online were created using a computer. I understand why! This conversion chart took a long time to draw by hand.)

    Printable Hand-Drawn Kitchen Conversion Charts
    You can find this hand-drawn kitchen conversion chart in the TPK Catalog. It comes in two different sizes.

    I have two printable versions of the kitchen conversion chart available for a nominal fee. One measures 5″ x 7″ (12.7 cm x 17.78 cm), and the other — which is identical to the original version — measures 8″ x 10″ (20.32 cm x 25.4 cm). I recommend printing the version that best fits your space and aesthetic, framing it, and keeping it in a visible spot in your own kitchen.

    Hand-Drawn Kitchen Conversion Chart

    If you’ve never used a kitchen conversion chart, get ready for the ultimate kitchen convenience. A conversion chart is super useful if you can’t find the 1/4 cup, but you’ve got a tablespoon handy (the chart will tell you: 1/4 cup = 4 tablespoons). Or, sometimes, I’ll be making a recipe and I’ll put in a tablespoon of oil, then I discover that a tablespoon of sugar is also required. Rather than washing and drying the oily tablespoon, I look at my chart to discover how many (clean) teaspoons I can use instead … 3!

    If a kitchen conversion chart sounds like something that will make your culinary life easier, I hope that you enjoy my hand-drawn version. Or, if you’re feeling ambitious, use this weekend to make your own chart! Thanks so much for reading, and happy cooking!

    Warmly,