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).
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.
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 used both a 5″ and a 3″ composition ruler* to draw embellished title banners in pencil. After that, the piece needed a title, which I drafted in large, flourished calligraphy with a 55°-ish slant.
*I’m sorry; composition rulers are all sold out of the Supplies Shop! There are more coming in mid-November. If you’re a TPK subscriber, you’ll receive an announcement when they’re back in stock.
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.
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!
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.)
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.
GET YOUR 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,
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