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68
The Science of Dress.
[CHAP. V.

hips to buttons sewn on to the modified binder I have just now described. The buttons will pass through the meshes of the stocking. The diaper will protect the child underneath; it should be put on to pass over the binder and stockings at the sides, and fasten in front with a nursery-pin.

Drawers may, however, be worn even by very young children with great advantage, for if they are worn, the diaper can be folded thick and laid inside them, as they will keep it in place. The drawers should be of woollen material, and the diapers of either wool or cotton, as the ordinary linen diaper is neither so soft and comfortable nor so absorbent as these materials. Diapers are too often fastened so badly that they chafe the parts with which they come in contact, draw up the legs towards the abdomen, and prevent their free movement. I think this may be obviated by cutting the diapers to a triangular shape instead of making them square, cutting out semicircles for the legs, and fastening the three corners in front. A loop may be sewn to the front corner and strings to the side ones, which can be tied through the loop; or loops at the sides may be fastened to a button on the front. The diaper will then form a sort of drawers, and extra thickness may be given to it underneath by laying inside some absorbent material. This plan also removes the objection of overheat caused by the ordinary method of rolling a diaper round the child. With this sort of diaper, stockings should be worn, as above described, and these should always