How do I stretch shoes that are slightly too tight?

The honest starting point is that stretching moves a small amount of width and almost no length. If the shoe is short, it is the wrong shoe and stretching will only make it wide and short. If it pinches across the joint or over an instep, that is exactly what stretching is for.

What you'll need

• Thick socks
• A shoe stretcher, ideally with bunion plugs (optional)
• Leather stretching spray, or water (optional)

Step by step

1. Work out where it is actually tight.Put the shoes on and find the pressure point. Width across the ball of the foot, a specific spot over a bunion or a joint, or the instep are all treatable. Toes hitting the end is not.
2. Wear them in first, with thick socks.Around the house, half an hour at a time, over several days. Leather takes the shape of a foot given warmth and time, and this alone solves a lot of mild tightness with no risk.
3. Damp the leather from the inside.Leather stretching spray, or a light misting of water, applied inside the shoe where it is tight. Damp leather moves; dry leather does not. Do not soak it.
4. Wear them until they dry.With thick socks on, walking around. The shoe dries in the shape of your foot, which is the entire mechanism. An hour or two is usually enough.
5. Or use a stretcher overnight.A two-way stretcher expands both width and, slightly, length. Wind it out until you feel firm resistance, leave it at least overnight, and expect to repeat it two or three times rather than forcing it in one go.
6. Use plugs for a specific pressure point.Most stretchers take small plastic bumps that push out one spot. That is far better for a bunion or a joint than stretching the whole shoe, which makes it sloppy everywhere else.
7. Go slowly and check between attempts.Small increments, tried on each time. Stretching is one-way — a shoe stretched too far cannot be taken back in, and an overlarge shoe causes as many problems as a tight one.
8. Take it to a cobbler for anything substantial.They have proper lasts and controlled heat and can stretch a shoe further and more evenly than any home method, usually for a small charge.
9. Know when to stop.Suede and nubuck stretch but the nap marks. Patent leather cracks. Synthetic uppers do not stretch at all and simply distort or split. Sports shoes with a knitted upper have no leather to move.

Tips

• Feet swell during the day. Try shoes on in the afternoon, and judge a stretch then rather than first thing.
• A thin insole taken out gains more room than most stretching does, and is reversible.
• If only one shoe is tight, stretch only that one. Feet are commonly different sizes.

Common mistakes

• The frozen bag of water method — Water expands as it freezes and pushes the shoe out, but it pushes in every direction with no control, it soaks the lining, and it can split a glued sole or a stitched seam. There is no way to stop when it has gone far enough.
• Heating leather with a hairdryer while wearing the shoes — Dry heat shrinks and hardens leather, which is the opposite of what is wanted, and it can craze the finish. Moisture and body warmth are what makes leather move, not hot air.

If it doesn't work

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