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| stretching the tight straps - yes it looks weird but it worked! |
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This pair of wedges is made out of cork, so they are lightweight and appear to be comfortable - but the straps don't give and are too tight, and the inside of the straps are stiff leather...so I came up with a couple steps to help them do a better job of making me look good while also being easy to wear.
First I wet the front straps that go across my toes and jammed in metal baking cups (I was doing this in the kitchen and just looked around to see what would fit very tightly into the opening - 1/3 cups did the job) to try to stretch the straps - and it worked! I don't want you to ruin your shoes if you try this, I felt like the leather and cork could take getting wet but you decide if your material will be ok with doing that. Actually I started the process only lightly dampening the straps, after they dried I saw that nothing bad would happen so I soaked them and did it again. The metal cups stretched the straps enough that the toe area was more open and therefore more comfy.
Then I cut felt scraps to cover the insides of the straps and glued them in place making sure the felt didn't show - I used a light tan color that matches the shoes but use whatever color you have as long as you can't see it when wearing the shoe.
That's all I did to totally turn these shoes around - I'll be able to wear them all the time now!
This pair of wedges is made out of cork, so they are lightweight and appear to be comfortable - but the straps don't give and are too tight, and the inside of the straps are stiff leather...so I came up with a couple steps to help them do a better job of making me look good while also being easy to wear.
First I wet the front straps that go across my toes and jammed in metal baking cups (I was doing this in the kitchen and just looked around to see what would fit very tightly into the opening - 1/3 cups did the job) to try to stretch the straps - and it worked! I don't want you to ruin your shoes if you try this, I felt like the leather and cork could take getting wet but you decide if your material will be ok with doing that. Actually I started the process only lightly dampening the straps, after they dried I saw that nothing bad would happen so I soaked them and did it again. The metal cups stretched the straps enough that the toe area was more open and therefore more comfy.
Then I cut felt scraps to cover the insides of the straps and glued them in place making sure the felt didn't show - I used a light tan color that matches the shoes but use whatever color you have as long as you can't see it when wearing the shoe.
That's all I did to totally turn these shoes around - I'll be able to wear them all the time now!
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| cut felt strips narrower than the shoe straps |
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| and glue in place. Ahhhhh - much better! |
Wow! Good to know!
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