what are these?
 

found them in a sewing cabinet I bought and not sure what they are

They look like shoe stretchers to me. Don't know why they would be in a sewing machine cabinet, but, oh well:)

You would just place the triangle part into the toe of the shoe and then there should be a way of stretching it out of widening that piece.

I believe those are shoe stretchers.

You put them in your shoes to keep them in shape - mostly for men,s shoes. Some call them shoe trees.

Kitty

They are shoe trees. Very old fashioned and are used to keep the shape of the shoe not to actually stretch the shoe. Remember way back when you kept a pair of shoes and had them resoled, re leathered, new heals. Those days are long gone. I remember using cletes on my shoes. They sounded so cool.
peace

Yes, the others are right. These are shoe trees used to keep shoes in proper shape while they live in the closet.

I always called them shoe stretchers - haven't seen them in years.

First thing came to my mind was "shoe horns". I see the others are calling them shoe stretchers...either way you say it, that is their reason for being. Hang on to them...Not only very useful, but a nice antique...

My dh uses wooden versions of these "shoe trees" in his work shoes. He buys only leather shoes with leather soles for work (and gets them re-soled once or twice before demoting them to work-around-the-house shoes).

ITA shoe trees/stretches
Perhaps they were in the sewing cabinet, and had been used inside a sock when darning.
And too, maybe it was just somewhere to put them, when someone didn't think they should throw them out!

Interesting, I did not know they were old-fashioned. I buy cedar shoe trees for my husband's expensive leather dress shoes. The shoe trees are great - they absorb sweat and odor and keep the shape of the shoe nice, so when he tosses them into the closet all willy-nilly, they don't get mashed.

we used to have some like that. You adjust the length, and "snap " them in place by straightening them out in the shoe. There should be some tension, you might have to fiddle with it to find the right length.

i have some wooden ones that are split in the middle. you twist the handle to widen them.

Shoe trees - when your shoes get wet from rain or snow these will keep the shape until they dry.

These are shoe stretchers.

They are shoe trees, I used them on my military oxfords back in the 60-70's.

They look like shoe stretchers :).

The little pegs coming out of the holes can be depressed and moved to shorten or lengthen the stretcher. They're great when you get shoes wet in snow or rain, these let the shoes dry out without shriveling up (back when all shoes were leather).

Funny that someone put shoe stretchers in a sewing cabinet.

They look like some shoe stretchers I got in Germany, when I was a student in Heidelberg. My shoes really took a beating on those brick-paved streets, so I thought they'd help to preserve the shape of the shoes. No such luck.