From necessity to innovation: The story of the N-Seam Saver and its inventor
Monday, May 12, 2025
Media Contact: Desa James | Communications Coordinator | 405-744-2669 | desa.james@okstate.edu
In a world filled with consumer products designed to make life easier, few are as personally driven by necessity as the N-Seam Saver.
Born from the frustration of shrinking clothes and ruined fabrics, the innovative product has not only solved a long-standing problem but has also become a testament to perseverance and creativity.
The N-Seam Saver is a revolutionary product designed to solve the common problem of shrinking clothes, emerging out of necessity and a desire to create a solution for an everyday struggle. The brainchild of Paige Smith, this unique hanger system is designed to restore clothes to their original size, providing a practical fix for consumers frustrated by shrinking fabrics.
Smith’s journey began in the late 1990s when she experienced firsthand the challenges of dealing with clothes, especially jeans, that shrank after washing.
“I had two young children at the time, and we’d all be pulling on their clothes, trying to stretch them back to their original size. The seams would snap, and by the end of the day, the jeans would shrink again. I knew there had to be a better way to solve this problem,” Smith said.
Through years of trial and error, from hanging jugs of water on makeshift hangers to developing prototypes with engineers, Smith honed her idea for a fabric-restoring hanger system. But despite her persistence, the solution was far from perfect.
Enter OSU’s New Product Development Center, a resource that provides technical assistance, research and development support as well as inventor assistance programming. As part of its mission to connect businesses, manufacturers and inventors with university resources, NPDC works to foster innovation, strengthen economic resilience and create lasting impacts in Oklahoma.
When Smith was introduced to the Inventor’s Assistance Service program, she found the support she needed to take her product to the next level. The IAS provides inventors with critical services like preliminary patent research, market research, engineering design, modeling and drawing, and prototyping services.
For Smith, this meant getting access to experienced professionals who could refine the design and guide the engineering process.
“The team at OSU and IAS was a game-changer,” Smith said.
The NPDC staff, along with a team of interns, worked closely with Smith to turn her concept into a working prototype. Together, they focused on ensuring the N-Seam Saver was durable, cost-effective and easy to manufacture. The prototype evolved through a series of iterations, with the engineering team helping Smith test materials and refine the hanger’s mechanism to ensure it was both practical and efficient.
With the technical support and resources provided by the NPDC and IAS, Smith was able to finalize her protype and move toward commercialization. Her product has gained traction for its unique ability to not only prevent shrinking but also restore the length and shape of fabrics, including jeans, yoga pants and sweaters. The hanger’s industrial-strength teeth grip fabric securely, and its design accommodates a variety of materials, including delicate fabrics like cashmere.
The N-Seam Saver’s success is a perfect example of how the NPDC and IAS help inventors develop and refine their ideas into market-ready products. By providing access to engineering expertise, prototyping services and market research, the program helps reduce the risks associated with new product development, enabling inventors to bring their solutions to market with greater confidence.
As the N-Seam Saver continues to grow, Smith’s ultimate goal is to bring the product to a national audience, with aspirations to launch on the Home Shopping Network.
Story By: Matt Brown | NPDC program specialist | matt.brown17@okstate.edu