Converse shoes, also called Chuck Taylor’s or All Stars, are worn by many people. The shoes come in many colors and styles. They were first created in 1917 and over one hundred million pairs of the shoe have been sold since then.
These are shoes that can fit any style because you can dress them up or dress them down depending on what you wear them with.
Because Converse are comfortable and go with nearly anything, it is common for people to want to buy several different colors so that they always have a pair that will match an outfit.
However, if too many pairs are bought tightly fitting ones may be left unused because they have stretched out too much after wearing them all of the time.
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Do Converse Stretch?
Yes, they do, though not very much. They will generally stretch about half a size after wearing them for several months.
If people want to keep their shoes from stretching then they need to avoid wearing the same pair every day because this causes the shoe to wear out more quickly than normal and in turn, stretch further than intended.
Wearing converse daily does not cause them to wear down in one spot so that it is easier for them to tear or rip in one area when doing activities like basketball or dancing but instead causes all of the material around the bottom of the shoe to loosen up slightly.
This means that when you take off your shoes at night when you go home they may be looser on your feet than when you put them on in the morning.
This is not to say that converse do not stretch because they certainly do. They will literally stretch about half an inch over time, depending on how tight your shoes are when you buy them and how often you wear them in general.
So if people want to keep their shoes from stretching too much they need to try and only wear them once in a while so that when they take off their shoes at night when they go home the next day the shoes are still fitting snugly around their feet.
Read Also: 11 Best Shoe Stretchers
Methods How to Stretch Converse Shoes
Now if you purposely want to stretch your shoes because they are too snug or you have a favorite pair that feels too snug because of swollen feet, then these are the methods how to stretch your Converse:
1. Bathtub
Can Converse shoes really stretch in the comfort of your own bathtub? Before you dive in, let’s uncover the truth. With just a few simple steps and a splash of creativity, you’ll witness the magic unfold. From a cozy soak to a perfect fit, brace yourself for the ultimate Converse experience.
Let’s get started and see if these iconic sneakers can stretch. Here are the steps how to stretch Converse in bathtub:
- Fill a tub or large bucket with very warm water. The hotter the better so more of the material will stretch.
- Place the shoes in the water and make sure that they are submerged and completely covered. Leave them there for around 20 minutes, making sure that they stay under water while you wait.
Another Steps If You Don’t Have Time
If you do not have time to let your shoes sit in water for this long then try putting them on and walking around while sitting in some hot, soapy dishwater for a few minutes instead of leaving them only sitting down all of the time like in step below.
- Remove your wet shoes from the tub or bucket and dry them off with paper towels until most of the moisture has been absorbed back into the air.
- While wearing the socks that you normally wear with that pair of shoes, put on your wet shoes and leave them on until they are completely dry. Do not try to speed up this drying process by using a hairdryer or any other type of heat because this will cause the material to shrink even more than it would if you let it naturally dry like in step before.
- Take off your shoes after they have dried completely. If you notice that the shoes feel looser around your feet then congratulations! You successfully stretched out your Converse.
If the shoes still feel too snug after letting them sit in water for 20 minutes and taking them off after they are mostly dry, then repeat steps 2-5 above again a few times until the shoes feel right.
Just because you have a tight pair of Converse that is too tight around your foot does not mean that you will not be able to enjoy wearing those cute little All Stars around town! Just try out one of these methods, sit back, and wait patiently until they are dry.
Read Also: Do Converse Run Big or Small
2. Microwave
If you do not have time to let your shoes sit in water for 20 minutes at a time, then there is another alternative that people can try instead. This method is a little risky though because the shoes could possibly shrink if they are heated too long or microwaved incorrectly. Here are the steps how to stretch Converse with microwave:
- Fill a microwave-safe bowl or cup with water (enough so that it covers the bottom half of your shoe). Make sure that the bowl or cup can hold at least as much water as you think the shoes will take up once they are submerged.
- Place your wet Converse into the microwave and heat them for about 30 seconds (longer if your pair is bigger or you want to use a shorter time period if you do not want to risk shrinkage).
Then remove one shoe from the bowl/cup and test out its size on your foot. If it feels too snug, then put it back in and heat again for another 10 seconds at a time until it feels like it fits fine.
Step to Protect The Color of Your Converse
Do this with both shoes and make sure that the color of the material has not changed during any heating process throughout all steps.
- Take off your shoes after they cooled down enough so that you can stand wearing them. If they feel snug then you can repeat this process again a few times until the shoes feel right.
To make sure that you do not mess up your shoes by trying any one of these methods to stretch out your Converse, it is best to only use half of the time that it states for microwaving or letting shoes sit in water during step above.
This way if none of these processes work then at least the shoes will not have been stretched too much and you will know that there was probably something wrong with your shoe size and not just because you tried stretching them too much.
In conclusion, it is possible to stretch Converse Shoes both from letting them sit in water or from microwaving so long as you do not overdo it and remember to let the shoes dry out naturally after microwaving or leaving them sit in water for a long time.
Read Alos: Can You Run in Converse
3. Thick Socks and Hairdryer
Another way to stretch out your Converse shoes is by using thick socks and a hairdryer.
- Put on the thickest pair of socks you have over each foot. Make sure that both pairs match in thickness so that one does not become bigger than the other after you put them on over your feet.
- Blow hot air from the hairdryer onto the part of your shoe where it feels too tight around your feet while wearing both pairs of socks at once.
Keep doing this until most of the discomfort goes away or becomes bearable enough for you to wear the shoes without feeling too much pain or uncomfortableness while walking around with them on. Here are the steps how to stretch Converse with thick socks and hairdryer:
- Leave some space between your toes before you put any weight on the shoes. If you do not put enough space between your toes, then they will stretch out less.
- Take off both of the pairs of socks after an hour or two.
- Repeat this process a few times until the shoes feel right after wearing them for a while each time without any discomfort afterwards.
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4. Steam with Water
Another way to stretch out your Converse Shoes is by using a kettle and hot steam.
Here are the steps how to stretch Converse out with steam and water:
- Fill a kettle with hot water from the tap so that it will be as hot as possible without burning yourself.
- Take off both shoes from each foot after filling up one of those flat wide coffee mugs with the boiled water from the Kettle. Three cups should be enough for most people, unless you have bigger feet or wider shoes than most other people do.
- Put the mug under a faucet if it does not have a spout that can release water easily into another container then refill it again until there is enough boiling water inside to fill up about half of your shoe. If you only want to use the mug to heat up the water for this process then do not refill it.
- Shake out any excess water that seeped into your shoe before microwaving it in the cup/mug with boiling hot water inside. This step is important because if you do not shake off all excess water your shoe will become wet and too much melting can happen when heating them in the microwave later on.
- Microwave the mug with your shoes inside of it for about 30 seconds or so. Check on both shoes after microwaving them to see how they feel while wearing them at the same time because sometimes one shoe can shrink more or less than another.
- Let both shoes cool off for about 30 seconds after microwaving them so that they feel less hot while putting them on over your feet.
- Put the shoes on and wear them until they are dry.
5. Stuff Your Converse Shoes with Newspaper
Another way to stretch out your Converse shoes is by stuffing them with newspaper without microwaving or letting them sit in water so that you do not have to worry about the material getting wet and shrinking.
- Stuff your shoe with enough newspaper and let them stay like this for days until the shoe feels better while wearing it.
- Take out all the newspaper and try the shoes on. Repeat this process a few times until the shoes feel right after wearing them for a while each time without any discomfort afterwards.
6. Stuff Them with Socks
Stuff your Converse with socks and leave them like this for a few days until they feel better. Take out the socks, put them on and stretch them out by walking around for a few days until the shoe feels right again.
7. Stretch Them Out With Your Hands
This method is used to stretch shoes that are not made of leather because using water or microwaving them could ruin anything made from fabric. Here are the steps how to stretch Converse out with your hands:
- Put your hands inside of both shoes and grab both heels at the same time. Pull them slowly towards you to stretch out your Converse Shoes from their tops, but do not tug on the front part that holds your toes. That front part needs to stay straight or else it will break even easier than usual when using this method of stretching out Converse shoes.
- Wiggle your toes inside of both shoes while trying to pull your heels back against your feet so that they slip off of your heel without breaking either shoe’s strap-like part that wraps across the top of most Converse shoes.
- Repeat this process a few times until the shoes feel right after wearing them for a while each time without any discomfort afterwards.
8. Stretching Out Converse Shoes with Dish Soap
This is another way to stretch out white leather converse by applying dish soap or washing up liquid directly onto the parts of your shoe that you want to stretch so that they become slippery and loose.
Here are the steps:
- Put a small amount of dish soap or washing up liquid onto both shoes’ toe parts, then rub the dish soap all over the shoe’s front part that holds your toes while trying to pull your heels back against your feet so that they slip off of your heel without breaking either shoe’s strap-like part that wraps across the top of most Converse shoes.
- Repeat this process a few times until the shoes feel right after wearing them for a while each time without any discomfort afterwards.
9. Take Your Converse To A Cobbler
If these methods do not work for you, take your Converse shoes to a cobbler who can stretch out the shoe without ruining it.
10. Put Shoe Trees Into Your Shoes
This is a method that works for people with particularly small feet because shoe trees can extend a pair of shoes’ lifetime by preventing them from becoming compressed and misshapen over time. Here are how to do it:
- Insert one tree into each shoe after wearing them so that they hang out of both shoes’ top parts while putting them on or taking them off of your feet before storing the shoes in their original box after removing the trees from inside of them.
- Put back-to-back pairs of shoe trees inside of both shoes after using one tree per shoe on each pair of shoes and store them in their original box.
- Leave the shoe trees inside of your Converse Shoes for a few days after removing both pairs of shoe trees from inside of each shoe to make sure that they keep their shape before wearing them again.
Advantages of Stretching Converse Shoes
Stretched-out Converse shoes are more comfortable to wear because they have been altered into a size that fits your feet perfectly. You can also choose from many different styles of Converse shoes to stretch so that they fit your feet comfortably.
Disadvantages of Stretching Converse Shoes
If you use methods other than those explained above, you could ruin your favorite pair of Converse shoes so that they cannot be worn again after attempting to stretch them out even if the shoe is still wearable as a normal size 9 or 10 depending on how small or big your feet are in relation to the average person’s foot size.
Like as not, they will also become too loose on your feet for optimal comfort because stretching them improperly with rubber bands or other household items will not give you the right size to fit your feet correctly.
When Your Converse Shoes Stretched Out Too Much
After following all of these steps successfully, your favorite pair of converse shoes will be comfortable for wear because their sizes have been altered to fit your particular feet even if they are now a little bit bigger than usual.
If you try to stretch them out further, however, you could make them too big on your feet by accident so that they become uncomfortable for wearing.
If they have stretched out too much, you could put them in the dryer to see if the heat can shrink them back. Although, doing the stretching and shrinking will abuse your shoes and they may end up discolored and won’t last as long either.
How To Widen Converse Toes
Some people have trouble with the front part of their converse sneakers being too narrow, making it uncomfortable to wear. You can stretch out your sneaker’s toe area to make it wider by using a hairdryer on them until they are warm to the touch. Here are the steps:
- Turn your hairdryer onto its hottest setting and put it at least six inches away from where you will be working so that you don’t risk burning yourself or damaging your shoes.
- Put your warm sneakers in front of the blower so that they heat up evenly. Let them cool off for about five minutes before wearing them again. Pushing hot air into them with a hairdryer makes them temporarily bigger, and your sneakers will fit your feet more comfortably while they are warm.
Keep in mind that stretching out Converse shoes with heat is only a temporary fix, and you should stretch them another way if you want to make the size of one of your favorite pairs of sneakers bigger on a permanent basis.
Taking the time to learn how to stretch out converse properly will help you get the most out of each pair, and it will save you money over time by making them last longer.
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Final Thought
Do Converse shoes truly stretch or is it just a myth? After diving into the depths of comfort and fit, we’ve unveiled the truth behind those canvas wonders. While Converse might not dramatically stretch like elastic, they do have a magical way of molding to your feet over time, creating a custom feel.
So fear not, fellow shoe enthusiasts, for your Converse will embrace your steps, ensuring a snug yet comfortable ride. Embrace the journey, rock your style, and let your Converse become the perfect companion to your adventures. Happy striding!