How Do You Shrink Shoes That Are Too Big?

You can shrink shoes by shrinking some targeted areas, by one size or putting insoles and heel cushions for shoes that are too big for you.

How Do You Shrink Shoes That Are Too Big?

Maybe you’ve brought your favorite pair of shoes from an elegant brand only to realize that it is a bit too oversized for you. There is a saying among people, “It’s better to go for a bigger size than to be small.” Let it be your jeans, shirts, shoes, or any garment, the statement makes total sense, as you can tailor it to the perfect size you want. There’s always room for that.

You may have the idea of tailoring your shirt or tops, but the idea of shrinking shoes is probably new to you. Also, shrinking your shoes is not so easy as shrinking your shirt. However, don’t worry- we got this.

Method 1: Shrinking Some Areas

This method functions pretty effectively when you are planning to gain a better fit by shrinking certain areas of your shoes. You need some water and a blow dryer as your material.

Let’s go over the steps of this method:

• Before you start the method, you need to figure out the certain or specific areas that need shrinking. You can figure this out by wearing them and walking a bit.
• You can get a water spray bottle and spray gently on the areas that you have targeted for shrinking. Be careful not to shrink the insole of your shoe, which might damage the quality of your shoes.
• After that, you need to dry the targeted wet areas with a blow dryer generously. Use the blow dryer from at least 6-7 inches away from the shoes and on medium settings.

Method 2:Making Shoes Smaller By One Area

This method doesn’t apply to suede shoes, rather it applies to leather and canvas shoes. If you are planning to shrink your shoes overall this might be the ideal method for it. You require tub water and some socks for this method.

• First of all, submerge your leather shoes in a room temperature bucket. Then also wear some socks and dip your fits in a bucket full of water.
• Put on your shoes immediately after you remove them from the bucket. timing is very important in this case.
• As soon as your shoes are out they will start to shrink. Avoid any outdoor activities that can get your shoes dirty and wear the shoes until your socks are fully dry.
• Let the shoe air dry completely before you put them on to observe if they fit or not.
•  And lastly, don’t forget to condition your leather shoes.
  In case you have canvas shoes, try shrinking them using a washing machine.

Method 3: Using Insoles or Cushions

If you are not preferring to go through serious and intensive approaches to make shoes more fit, just simply searching for an approach to make your shoes fit better, then this method is for you. You can just try adding insoles to your shoes.

• You might need some hiking socks or some thicker socks in case you are planning to shrink closed shoes like sneakers or boots. try wearing those types of socks to fit the shoes better.
• What if you don’t solve the problem by wearing thicker socks? Well, don’t worry there is a solution for that. You can try adding insoles to make them tighter. Or if you are targetting specific areas of your shoes, you can use heel cushions.      

Can the Sun Shrink Your Shoes?

This is kind of the same as the wetting and heating method. In this case, you are going to shrink your shoes through the natural heat of the sun. After you have sprayed water onto the targeted areas of the shoe, leave them under the sun to dry naturally. It will shrink naturally through the process, though don’t leave them too long as they might lose the color quality.

Do Insoles Make Shoes Smaller?

You can make shoes smaller physically through the wetting and heating method. What if you don’t want to follow that method anymore? You can try using insoles to fit your shoes better then. It doesn’t make your shoes physically smaller, but it fills the space between your feet and the shoe.

Insoles are also a popular approach to keep your shoes new and clean as you can take them out anytime. Most importantly good quality insoles make your shoes comfortable and fit for you to wear.

Is It Ok to Wear Shoes a Size Too Big?

You might ask what if I wear big shoes rather than just shrinking them. Well, not just you might feel uncomfortable walking in big shoes, you will walk in an unnatural and dysfunctional way which might harm you later.

Getting the shoes right-sized is very important because it sets the way we walk. As an example, if you walk too much with big uncomfortable shoes, your walking style might get dysfunctional in an unnatural way which you might regret.

How to Shrink Leather Shoes with Vinegar?

It’s almost similar to the wetting and soaking method. But you don’t soak the shoes in this method.

• Soak a pair of socks in a bowl of white vinegar. Don’t squeeze them after taking them out, just put them in the shoes as it is.
• Let them soak inside the shoes for like 1 or 2 hours.
• As vinegar can contract tissues of leather, so the socks will help to shrink the leather shoes.
• After some hours take out the socks and put the shoes in sunlight for shrinking. Don’t put them for too long.
• After they have fully dried, remove them from the sun. Try putting them on to figure out if it fits.

FAQ

Q: How do you know if shoes are too long?

Ans: Well, you need to figure out if your shoes are too big for you. The most common way to figure out if your shoes are too long or not is to look at how much of a room there is in the toe of the shoe. 1 finger space between your toe and the end of the shoe is an ideal space, more than that you might consider shrinking your shoes.

Q: Do shoes shrink in the drier?

Ans: Unlike leather shoes, you need to soak up if your canvas shoes are the one that needs shrinking. Make sure when they are completely soaked, throw them on the dryer for 10-15 minutes. The heat shrinks up the shoe in a small amount of time. This soaking method doesn’t apply to suede shoes though.

Conclusion

Remember that the exterior dimensions remain the same even after you alter the sizes of the shoes. Beware that if you have suede shoes, don’t try the soaking method on them, it doesn’t go well. We also discourage wearing suede shoes in the rainy season.

And make sure to never put leather shoes in the dryer.  Anyway, it’s way better to do some work and modify your shoes to a perfect pair of comfortable ones rather than dragging them all the way or getting tripped over.