Converse Are Too Narrow: What to Do?

Converse sneakers are too narrow. “What to do?” becomes the bugging question a lot of Converse users are interested in getting answers to.

The right thing to do when Converse is too narrow is to find means of stretching the edges through natural means or the use of different types of stretchers.

The brand is, without doubt, one of the most finest and iconic shoe brands that have been in existence since time immemorial. Converse delivers some of the best silhouettes the world of footwear has ever known.

But then, we cannot neglect the fact that it compresses our feet some of the time. Especially at its early stage of use.

Why are Converse shoes narrow at first?

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Converse Are Too Narrow

Converse is narrow at first because Converse material is terrible at elasticity. It hardly stretches, it eventually does but it takes time to break in. The break-in period is the most uncomfortable period for a Converse user.

It becomes a bigger problem if the person faced with this reality already has any underlying foot problems. This is because there is a high tendency of escalation as this narrowness will further put the feet under a compressed state.

Another reason Converse is narrow at first is that the toes and heel areas are tightly attached to the shoe sole to a fault.

And these are the major areas that account for the relaxed fitting of any shoe. Combining both reasons is the reason Converse has the uncomfortable tightness that it has at its early stage of use.

Because it is natural for users to try to find means through which this problem can be tackled, you would find questions like “are there some measures that can be taken to help soften out the shoe’s fitting without necessarily having to wear them for some weeks to afford a break-in?” Yes, there are.

Here are five (5) things to do when your Converse is narrow

The use of heat
Stuffing
The use of socks
Shoe-stretching tools
Wash the Converse

1. The use of heat

Naturally, fabrics are subject to stretching when subjected to heat. As Converse are made of fabric, heat can help to stretch them. Here is how it works. An easy way to do this is by the use of a hairdryer to warm up the Converse.

First, you start by filling the inside of the shoe with clothes to have a fine shape of the necessary areas that need heating.

With the hairdryer on hand, go round on all the areas of the shoe where you especially feel the compression. Make sure to focus on the two core areas; toe and heel, they are the main culprit.

Repeat the process and allow the Converse to cool for two minutes. Wear them and try to wiggle your toes inside. This way you create the desired expansion that you need.

You should know that the fabric will compress again upon cooling. However, it would compress back to its original taught state.

Now repeat the process again and allow it to cool as you did at first. The extent of the relaxed-fitting of your preference will determine how many times you would repeat the process.

2. Stuffing

Just like you do in a case where you want to prevent your shoes from creasing, stuff your Converse up when you want some expansion to reduce its narrow extent if you are not comfortable with that type of fitting.

This method mostly works for cases where it is particularly the toe that is too tight and you need extra space so you can flex and wiggle your toes.

You can roll up several newspapers and rags to a preferred size, and shove them into the shoe. Make sure the shoe is well laced and the tongue is in its right position when you do this. This is to build a room therein to not allow the stuffing materials to escape.

Check to see for some relaxed space where some parts of the stuffing materials are not very tight. If you find any, get smaller rags and fill up those loose spaces, we want to get the shoe as tight as possible.

It is advised to leave it overnight. However, if you are not comfortable with the result that you get, repeat the process, this time, with more stuffing materials.

3. The use of socks

This is an old Converse expansion hack that has worked for many. It is one of the most convenient methods even. Here, you will be needing thicker socks and not the regular types.

You must know that socks type matters here a lot. The ideal type of socks to use is slow to stretch with the Converse in a way that doesn’t affect the structure of your feet.

Here is what to do. Get a pair of thick socks and another pair of light ones. Wear the thick socks as you normally do in your regular shoes. It would feel tight initially, nonetheless, persist.

You’d notice the fitting getting relaxed after some hours of use. After six hours (or more, depending on your ability to use it) take the socks out and wear your Converse.

You notice the instant expansion because in this case, the shoe is faced with both stuffing materials (your feet in wide socks) and the impact you make with your body weight when you walkabout.

Upon taking off the thick socks and observing that you are not okay with the expansion, you can repeat the process, but this time, you should be wearing both the thick and thin socks.

4. Shoe-stretching tools

It is possible that you can try all of these methods and still not get the results that you desire. This is where the use of shoe-stretching tools comes in.

Shoe-stretching tools are tools that are specifically designed for and can be used to lengthen shoes whose fittings are too tight. Chances are, that you may never have come across them.

For example, a ball and ring shoe stretcher can be of help to you as it can loosen certain tight areas. Again, according to your preference, there is a two-way stretcher that can be used to stretch the whole of the shoe at once.

The use of a two-way stretcher

The use of a two-way stretcher (like this one on Amazon) involves fitting the stretcher inside of the Converse. After which you can begin to adjust the screw until the Converse fabric starts to expand.

You can leave the stretcher inside and allow it to stretch overnight and repeat the process for the second pair. Or, you can stretch each pair for five to six hours, depending on how much stretching you need.

The use of ball and ring stretcher

You start by locating the areas with the most needed stretching. Ensure that the ball side of the shoe is placed inside while the ring stretcher (See on Amazon) is placed outside.

The arms of the stretcher should be pulled together with the ball inside of the shoe, pushing the Converse fabric in.

It is up to you to either leave the stretcher inside the shoe overnight or just for some hours and interchange them.

5. Wash the Converse

Yes. Washing brings about fabric expansion. This is the reason people are advised to not always wash their fabric shoes and only do so when necessary.

Converse, when taken out of the factory, has some extent of stiffness that can only be loosened when water is made to pass through the pores of the material.

Start by soaking the Converse in a bowl of tepid water that has some drops of mild dishwashing liquid soap in it. Of course, after having removed the laces. The tepid water will soften up the bristles.

Gently squeeze and wash the desired areas where you’d need more stretching. Rinse with clean water so there is no remnant of soap content in it.

Please do not sun-dry. Air-dry instead. Make sure to flex it when it is halfway dry to enable it to gain a bit of flexibility.

How tight should Converse fit?

Converse should have a snug fit. Although it boils down to preference, you should understand that the common areas in which Converse are worn necessitate that where a loose-fitting is not ideal.

Converse are mostly worn to sports venues, and the gym, it is used for track and field events, and for casual wear too.

The areas of the use of a shoe determine the type of fitting that it should have. Seeing that Converse is mostly used in these causes makes a snug-fitting ideal.

Converse should not have toe or heel compression. It should give minimum cushioning and good arch support.

Conclusion

When Converse sneakers are too narrow, what to do seems too difficult a thing to do as most people are not equipped with the right knowledge to go about it.

Like a white elephant, it becomes difficult to find. However, the steps to take are not far-fetched. The answers we have provided are based on proven results and can serve as a guide that will help you in no small way.

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