Most designs of Crocs offer a spacious and relaxed fit. But there are some types that provide less space in order to give you a more secure fit. Some may have roomy toe boxes, while some are otherwise. But no matter the fit, wearing Crocs over time can loosen them up a bit.
Another thing about stretching is that Crocs are a kind of footwear that can shrink when exposed to various conditions, they can also be ‘unshrunk’ back to their initial size/shape.
In this post, I will be showing you more of stretching, shrinking, and unshrinking of Crocs in order to make them feel very comfortable on the feet.
To begin with, how do these Crocs stretching thing work after wearing?
The process of Crocs stretching out when you wear
The stretching thing about Crocs footwear should not be all that surprising because they are made out of a type of foam that naturally stretches when exposed to excessive temperatures – high heat.
And if you notice, Crocs are mostly used during summer seasons, which implies that most people will leave them out in the sun or hot in a hot car.
There are many ways to make footwear stretch to fit your feet size. But when it comes to Crocs, they tend to stretch out after wearing for a while.
The process is nothing scientific.
New Crocs may be tight at your feet, but will surely stretch out over time. This is possible as a result of the heat that helps soften them.
This may take a while though, not immediate stretching.
But there are also other ways to stretch out your Crocs shoes instantly. If you just got a new pair of Crocs that seem to be tight for your feet size, there are some ways you can stretch them out instantly. I’d recommend you to read this article HERE to find more about that.
But here, we will be doing more Crocs stretching out over time as you wear them because if you are not careful, those instant methods could do something bad to your crocs.
When you first have a new pair of Crocs shoes, they tend to be tight for your feet. But they will naturally mound to your feet (most types of these clogs provide a spacious, relaxed fit, while some provide less space for a more secure fit).
How to stretch Crocs that shrunk?
When I started off this post, I made mention of Crocs shrinking under various conditions and how they can be ‘unshrunk’ back to their initial size/shape.
I have seen situations where Crocs have shrunken too much and now feel too tight on feet. In this case, you would want to stretch the Crocs back to the original size or to fit you comfortably.
One of the practical approaches I do recommend is to leave them out in the sun. If you remember, Crocs are made of foam that naturally stretches when exposed to excessive temperature.
But I can tell you that this is time-consuming. Worse off, what if the time of the season is not during the hot summer months?
Hence, you may want to try out other practical methods of stretching Crocs that have shrunk.
Let me show you a quick way you can stretch your Crocs under any circumstances – whether after it shrunk or it seems too tight upon arrival as new Crocs.
What you will need to stretch the Crocs
You will need:
- A bowl
- Boiled water
- Maybe a couple of pairs of socks
- And, … your legs!
- Step one: First immerse your Crocs into a bowl of boiling water
- Step two: Leave them there for about 60 seconds
- Step three: Take out the Crocs and try wearing them as soon as their temperature allows you, but you have to make sure it is quick. By doing this, the clogs will naturally re-mold to your feet by forcing them to conform to your feet.
- Step four: I can as well advise you to wear a couple of pairs of socks before slipping on the freshly boiled clogs, especially if you really need to stretch out your Crocs.
- Step five: Wear the freshly boiled Crocs around for a while, and you will notice that it is conforming to your feet.
Do Crocs mold to your feet?
If you have been following the message of this article hook-line-sinker, you must have had the conviction in your mind that Crocs will mold to the feet.
To be clear, Crocs are not like every other footwear. They are made of Crosslite - a lightweight antimicrobial resin – that is designed to mold to the wearer’s feet.
People wear Crocs mostly during summer, and regardless of how hot they may get, wear them.
Like I said earlier, the ‘perfect fit’ segment of the Crocs site explains that Crocs should fit wearers loosely.
So even though you just bought the Crocs, it will eventually stretch out and mold to your feet after wearing it for a while.
But like I pointed out earlier, this can be time-consuming.
There are other ways you can make Crocs mold to your feet without having to wait for them to fit naturally.
How to mold Crocs to your feet
I have two practical methods on how to mold Crocs to your feet. They are effective and quite instant methods you can do at home.
One is the use of hairdryers, while the other one is the use of hot water (almost the same method you use when stretching your Crocs)
Using Hairdryer in molding Crocs to your feet
If you are going to use the hairdryer method, I recommend that you have a good quality hair dryer like this HERE.
- Wrap a towel around the hairdryer so that the heat distributes evenly when the Crocs are subjected to the heat
- Allow the dryer to stay inside the shoes
- Hit the hairdryer as high as you find necessary for three minutes
- While you do this, be careful of the condition of the Crocs material
- It will get to a point where the Crocs are warm and flexible, this is usually after three minutes or so.
- Remove the hairdryer, put on some socks, and wear the shoes immediately.
- Wear the Crocs and move around for 4 to 5 minutes
- You have Crocs that will now mold to your feet as it gets warmer.
- Now, remove the socks and try the Crocs to see if they are molded to your feet enough.
If you feel it is still tight, you can repeat the process
The use of hot water in molding Crocs to your feet Â
This method is almost the same as using hot water to stretch your Crocs. What sets in the similarity is that when you have a stretched Crocs, it is most likely going to mold to your feet.
So there is no much difference with the steps I explained earlier on.
- All you need is to boil some water and put it in a pot.
- Then dip your shrink Crocs in hot water for a period of about one minute.
- Remove the Crocs from the hot water and then heat them on the outer surface so that the Crocs can reach tolerable levels of your feet.
- Wear the Crocs immediately and walk around on your feet for about five minutes.
- The effect of the hot water, leading to softening of the Crocs will make it stretch and fit your feet after wearing for several days.
This is how you can use hot water in molding Crocs to your feet.
How to adjust Crocs straps
Grab the heel strap with your hands, ensuring that both hands are on either side of the “Crocs†wording, and then gently pull the straps outwards from the middle. Do this until you get the right fit you want.
You can as well remove the Crocs buttons by pushing the Jibbitz upward from the inside of the shoe. And then, using your other hand to wiggle the Jibbitz through the hole in the Crocs shoe, do this while you push it outward with your hand inside of the shoe.
I will advise you not to try pulling upwards as this may tear the Crocs hole, and you won’t have the chance to fix any straps again.
The straps in every Crocs shoe or slippers serve two interesting purposes.
It offers you what is called the ‘sports mode’, this ensures that the Crocs will remain secure even if you are running since the straps are position around the back of your feet.
It equally offers the relaxed mode that ensures you are able to slip into the Crocs just as easily as they can kick them off since the straps can be positions before the ankle – on the shoe top.
As you continue to wiggle the Jibbitz through the hole in the Crocs shoe, it will eventually pop through.
How to change the straps on Crocs
Part of the fun in wearing Crocs is that you can actually switch or change the straps to make them more beautiful or new.
But when switching Crocs straps, you need to be careful and take note of certain things so as not to tear the Crocs holes.
Follow these detailed steps to safely change or switch the straps on your Crocs shoes
Things you will need to change the straps on Crocs…
- Of course, two pairs of Crocs, or anyone who will sacrifice some Crocs straps for you. (make sure the straps are roughly the same size of shoe)
- And, your two hands!
- Step one: The first thing to do is to remove the straps from all the Crocs shoes. To do this, press down on a black button with one hand, stretch the handle away from your hand.
- Step two: Start sliding it off the button when the hole is wide enough. You continue this until the strap is off.
- Step three: Now that you have the straps off, it is time to switch the straps. This means, trying to fix in the back the strap of the opposite color. Before you start, ensure that the letters on the strap are facing the same way.
You want to make the hole of the strap wider by stretching it with your fingers. Now, Â begin to work the button into the hole.
You do this continuously and a little forcefully until the strap is secure.
- Step four: After you have switched the straps, swing it back and forth to make sure it fits well and ensure the button does not rub off your ankle while you walk with the Crocs.
Should Crocs be tight?
Crocs should fit you loosely. The perfect Crocs fit on Crocs site says it all on how crocs should fit your leg. While it depends on your preference and ultimately, your comfort, Crocs should not fit like other shoes.
When you wear Crocs that you like, the sides of your foot should not really touch the sides of the shoe. Also, your toes should never make contact with the front of the shoe. This is why most Crocs types, like I mentioned earlier, provide a spacious, relaxed fit and roomy toe boxes.
I may not know what ‘tight’ means to you, but when you wear your Crocs, and you have centered your foot on the footbed, the space in front of your toes should be 1/4 to 1/2 inch.
And then, behind your heel, when you lift the strap, you should be able to comfortably get your finger between the strap and heel.
When you consider all these, according to what the perfect fit on the Crocs site says, you will see that the fit of ideal Crocs should not be tight.
Wrapping up
This brings us to the end of this post, and I have quite sure that you have learned a lot as regards stretching, shrinking, and ‘unshrinking’ of Crocs.
Crocs are not like other footwear. They are second to none when it comes to pure comfort and casual around-the-house use.
While Crocs are significantly more comfortable, particularly for people with wide feet, they can appear a little tight when new.
But, the regular wearing of Crocs and exposure to excessive heat will make them stretch over time.
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