Finding a pair of shoes that fit entirely your feet is not an easy task. Many people often have trouble with shoes that are bigger than their feet or shoes that stretch after using them for a while.
Wearing wide shoes can make you feel uncomfortable on the road or even put you in humiliating situations when your shoes slip off your feet. These are things that no one would expect.
Instead of throwing these shoes away, you can completely shrink them in simple ways. If you are looking for effective shoe shrink methods, this article is for you!
Determine What Parts Of Shoes To Shrink
When you fix a pair of shoes, you need to identify which parts need to be shrunk.
You may find that the toe or the width of the shoe just doesn’t fit your foot. Therefore, if you shrink the entire shoe, the parts that already fit your foot may be smaller, and you may have to throw the whole shoe away.
Thus, the first step you need to do, whether the method you choose, is to try on your shoes and identify which area doesn’t fit your feet. Put on your boots and try a few steps to see which part of the shoe doesn’t touch your foot. Then highlight those areas to shrink them.
If your shoes are too loose, visit Shoe Fitting Guide to know how to adjust the fit of your shoes. This guide will give you tips and tricks to make your shoes fit more comfortably, so you can determine which parts of your shoes you need to shrink effectively.
Method 1: Using Water And Heat
This method is simple. You just need some water and a blow dryer to make your shoes smaller. This way is suitable for canvas, leather, and suede shoes.
Here is the process of using water and heat to shrink your shoes:
- Step 1: Firstly, moisten the area to be shrunk with cold water. Note that you should only make the surface of the shoe moist, not soggy.
- Step 2: Use a dryer to generate heat and shrink the shoe. Set the dryer to medium heat. Then, dry the area you just moistened. You should keep the dryer about 15-20 cm away from your shoes to avoid fading the color of canvas shoes and damaging leather shoes.
- Step 3: Wear your shoes and check the fit. If the shrunk areas are still loose, you can repeat the process until you’re satisfied.
Pro tip:
It would be best if you used a leather shoe conditioner for leather shoes and suede shoes after applying heat to ensure the heat does not damage your shoes.
For delicate shoes such as high heels, you can use natural heat from the sun instead of a blow dryer to shrink them.
Method 2: Using The Cushion
If you don’t want your shoes to be damaged by water and heat, using cushions, including socks, insoles can be a safer method of shrinking shoes.
This way does not make your shoes smaller, but it makes you feel better and more comfortable wearing them. This method is appropriate for dress shoes, boots, and sneakers.
You can wear a thicker pair of socks to make the shoes fit your feet better. Note that this only works for closed shoes like sneakers.
In case you wear high heels, wearing thick socks can lead to an unsightly look. To fix heels that are wider than your feet, you can use shoe insoles.
If only the heel or toe is wide, you can use cushions to fill those areas.
Method 3: Using Vinegar To Shrink Leather Shoes
You can use vinegar and apple cider vinegar to make your white leather shoes smaller. Here is the process:
- Step 1: First, take a pair of socks and soak them in a solution of white vinegar or apple cider vinegar. Then put these socks inside the leather shoes for 1-2 hours. Vinegar can shrink the tissues on leather shoes.
- Step 2: Now, take the socks out of the shoes and let the shoes dry. It would be best to dry your leather shoes in the sun. This way, you can take advantage of the natural heat from the sun, and the shrinking process will be faster.
- Step 3: Apply a layer of leather shoe conditioner to prevent shoes from cracking.
FAQs
How do you shrink shoes that are too big?
One of the most common and straightforward methods to make shoes smaller is using water. You can get your shoes and then applying heat to make them smaller. In addition, there are many other ways to shrink your shoes, such as using alcohol, vinegar.
Can you shrink shoes on purposes?
Yes, you can. Generally, shoes’ materials such as canvas, leather can shrink under physical impact. Therefore, you can ultimately use a few methods, such as applying heat to shrink the shoe as you prefer. Notice that you should not use a dryer to shrink leather shoes because this will damage your shoes.
Can shoes be stretched in width?
Yes, they can. To stretch leather shoes’ width, you can use both one-way shoe stretchers and two-way shoe stretchers. These machines will help you have the desired width of shoes.
Do insoles make shoes smaller?
Yes, they do. Shoe insoles have the leading function of softening your feet when you wear shoes. However, if your shoes are a bit wider than your feet, you can use thicker insoles to fill your boots.
How does vinegar shrink leather shoes?
Vinegar can make your leather shoes smaller. You just need a cup of vinegar and a pair of socks to shrink your shoes. Soak the socks in the vinegar solution, then put the socks in your leather shoes for about 1 to 2 hours to effectively shrink the sneakers.
Does alcohol shrink leather?
Yes, it does. Instead of using water only to make your leather boots smaller, you can mix alcohol and water to have an effective solution for shrinking leather.
Should your toes touch the end of shoes?
No, they should not. When your longest toe touches the end of your shoes, it will be genuinely uncomfortable. It would be best if you chose shoes that are a little bit longer than your foot’s size. 1/2 inch is a suitable distance between the end of the boots and your longest toe.
Does water ruin leather shoes?
Yes, it does. If you soak your leather shoes in water for a long time or you let them wet, it can damage and make cracks on your leather shoes. Thus, it would be best if you were careful when using water to shrink your leather boots.
