Last month, I bought a pair of red sneakers. I tried it on and bought the size that felt best. These sneakers are not everyday work shoes, so I didn’t wear them until yesterday. When I wore them to a basketball game, I found them too small and uncomfortable. Unfortunately, it’s too late for a return. I want to know how to stretch shoes.

Franco teach you how to stretch shoes

I turned to Franco Fischen for help. He is an outstanding Italian sneaker designer designing footwear for over 30 years. I asked him how to stretch shoes, and he gave me the following tips. If you have the same problem, you can do this:
1. You can roll several pairs of thick socks into small balls and tuck them into the shoes until they reach their maximum capacity. Keep this state for 2-3 days.

2. Find a one-quart bag and fill it half full with water. Remove all air from the bag. Tuck the hydration bag into your shoes. You can use more than one bag to fill the area where you need the shoe to stretch. Put the shoes in the refrigerator until the water is completely frozen. Remove the ice pack when the water is completely frozen, and your shoes should be stretched. Please don’t fill the bag with water; it could burst when it freezes and cracks your shoes. Leather shoes, don’t try this either. They will be damaged.

3. You can buy a wooden shoe stretcher on Amazon and stretch your shoes yourself. There are many of these products on Amazon.

4. Put your shoes in the sun for about 30 minutes to soften the material. After that, you wear thick socks and walk around for 2 hours with your shoes on. You can walk fast or stretch your feet and toes. These will help loosen the front part of the shoe a bit.

5. You can also blow on the shoes with a hair dryer for about 30 seconds until the shoes are warm. This will also help soften the material and make it expand a bit. After that, you put on your shoes and walk and stretch for 1 hour.

6. If your shoes are made of leather, suede, cowhide, etc., you can purchase a stretch spray to help expand the upper. Spray this stretching spray on your shoes or boots inside or outside. The chemicals in the spray help penetrate the shoe leather quickly and loosen the leather fibers, making them easier to stretch. After the leather is softened, you can insert a shoe stretcher to pull the shoe into its new shape and let it dry.

7. You can spray the entire surface of the leather shoes with 50% rubbing alcohol (it must be real leather). Then walk around in your shoes for a few hours. Let your shoes dry well before applying a leather conditioner. Alcohol will soften the leather. Walking around with your shoes stretches them to fit your feet better.

8. Vaseline can also do a good job of stretching your shoes. You put on a pair of thick socks and some petroleum jelly where your shoes will stretch. You put on your shoes and walk for about 30 minutes.

9. Get help from a local shoemaker

If you’ve tried all the above and don’t want to waste time, take your shoes to the cobbler. A professional shoemaker will have a machine that can apply gentle pressure and heat.
However, the key is not how to stretch shoes. Franco reminds us not to buy shoes without trying them on. When you buy shoes, you should put them on, take a few steps in the store, and get a feel for how comfortable your feet are. It would be best if you bought shoes at your local shoe store rather than online. If you’re buying shoes online, you want to make sure you can send them back if they don’t fit.

Also, we don’t buy shoes with synthetic leather and other plastics because they will never adapt to the shape of your foot and will quickly change back to their original shape when you’re not wearing them. Moreover, these materials are not “breathable,” meaning there is no evaporation, which can create unpleasant odors.

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