Best way to stretch patent leather?
- Thread starter babypie
- Start date
what i do is wear them around the house with socks for a while. also, a friend told me to pour some rubbing alcohol on my sock where the shoe feels tight and then put the shoe on and wear it around the house. i did this for a pair of impossibly snug marc jacobs flats and they now fit just fine... obviously i did not use precious socks
and i had to do it a few times over the course of a couple of weeks so it is not a quick fix AND i did all this after i had them stretched by a cobbler!!! i find that nothing beats stretch through wear...
and i had to do it a few times over the course of a couple of weeks so it is not a quick fix AND i did all this after i had them stretched by a cobbler!!! i find that nothing beats stretch through wear...
Here's the system I use for any leather (I posted this in another thread too)...
Assuming the lining of the shoe is a natural fabric (in my experience, synthetic fabrics don't stretch... besides which, they usually make your feet a little -er- 'nasaly unappealing'!). The stretcher I have is shaped kinda like a foot, and covered in little holes. You put the foot in the shoe and then twist the handle on the end to make the toe/ball of foot area wider (you can't stretch the heel out). If you want to stretch it lengthways, you have to turn a little disc on the handle part of the foot and it lengthens. If there's a particular spot on your shoe that is rubbing, the stretcher has all these little 'bump' attachments that you plug into the holes for extra stretching in that area.
I leave each shoe on the stretcher for about two days before wearing them. If they still haven't stretched enough, depending on the colour of the lining I really pack damp butcher's paper (or newspaper will do) into the shoe overnight, then take it all out in the morning and put it back on the stretcher.
If it STILL hasn't stretched enough, you can get leather stretching spray from the cobbler. Give the shoe a spritz then either pop the shoes on and wear them 'round the house, or put them back onto the stretcher.
The stretcher thing cost me about $50 from the cobbler. It's exactly the same as the one they use when you go and take them to get stretched!
HTHs
Assuming the lining of the shoe is a natural fabric (in my experience, synthetic fabrics don't stretch... besides which, they usually make your feet a little -er- 'nasaly unappealing'!). The stretcher I have is shaped kinda like a foot, and covered in little holes. You put the foot in the shoe and then twist the handle on the end to make the toe/ball of foot area wider (you can't stretch the heel out). If you want to stretch it lengthways, you have to turn a little disc on the handle part of the foot and it lengthens. If there's a particular spot on your shoe that is rubbing, the stretcher has all these little 'bump' attachments that you plug into the holes for extra stretching in that area.
I leave each shoe on the stretcher for about two days before wearing them. If they still haven't stretched enough, depending on the colour of the lining I really pack damp butcher's paper (or newspaper will do) into the shoe overnight, then take it all out in the morning and put it back on the stretcher.
If it STILL hasn't stretched enough, you can get leather stretching spray from the cobbler. Give the shoe a spritz then either pop the shoes on and wear them 'round the house, or put them back onto the stretcher.
The stretcher thing cost me about $50 from the cobbler. It's exactly the same as the one they use when you go and take them to get stretched!
HTHs
