Cotton fabric was treated with commercially available household softener and starch. The height of absorbed water and bending resistance were determined on the cotton fabric. The treatment time of preventing the water absorption from declining after treatment with softener was investigated. The height of absorbed water after treatment with the softener was decreased to about 73% in the 10-min. treatment, showing the minimum height. The bending resistance of the fabric decreased slightly during 40 minutes of treatment. The height of absorbed water after treatment with the starch decreased to about 85% in 1 minute of treatment, showing the minimum height. The bending resistance of the fabric showed a large increase in 5 minutes of treatment. The height of absorbed water after treatment with the mixture of the softener and the starch slowly decreased to about 87% during 40 minutes of treatment. The bending resistance of the fabric was smaller than that after treatment of the starch. The decrease in the height of absorbed water after treatment with the mixture of the softener and the starch became small. Particularly it was conspicuous in 10 minutes of treatment. The short time treatment with the mixture prevented the decrease in the height of absorbed water and the increase in the bending resistance.

  The treatment of preventing the water absorption from declining after treatment with softener was investigated. Cotton fabric was treated in 5 minutes with commercially available household softener and starch. The height of absorbed water and bending resistance were determined on the cotton fabric. The height of absorbed water after treatment with the softener was the minimum when the softener concentration was 0.44ml/l, and that after treatment with the starch was the minimum at the starch concentration of 4ml/l and the maximum at the starch concentration of 40ml/l. The height of absorbed water after treatment with the mixture at a fixed softener concentration and increasing starch concentration was the maximum at the starch concentration of 8ml/l, and the bending resistance after treatment with the mixture increased. The height of absorbed water after treatment with the mixture at a fixed starch concentration and increasing softener concentration was the maximum when the softener concentration was 0.11ml/l, and the bending resistance after treatment with the mixture decreased. The height of absorbed water after treatment with the mixture at increasing softener concentration and increasing starch concentration decreased gradually, and the bending resistance after treatment with the mixture increased. The height of absorbed water after treatment with the mixture at increasing softener concentration and decreasing starch concentration was the minimum when the softener concentration was 0.88ml/l and the starch concentration was 2ml/l. The treatment with the mixture at increasing softener concentration and increasing starch concentration prevented the decrease in the height of absorbed water and reduced the increase in the bending resistance, when the softener concentration was 0.11ml/l or less and the starch concentration was 4ml/l or less.

  The actual condition of headgear, i.e., caps and hats worn while doing farming was examined by means of questionnaire and field (wearing) tests.

  The results of the questionnaire were as follows :

  A hundred percent of male farmers used caps, while seventy-one percent of female farmers opted for straw hats. Seventy-nine percent of female farmers inserted some kind of fitting cloth inside the headgear, e.g. towels and/or washcloths, in order to prevent them from sunburn. Female farmers chose broad-brimmed hats when purchasing headgear, being very concerned about sunburn, while male farmers chose with design, material and outward appearance in mind.

  Field (wearing) tests were carried out based on the above results. Straw hats with thick fabrics showed low air and moisture permeability compared with hats made of cotton fabrics. At the parietal and occipital positions the temperature inside the straw hat became lower with increased thickness of fabrics due to less heat transfer from outside surface. The temperature at the seventh cervical vertebra registered lowest when a broad-brimmed hat was used.

  The temperature in headgear remained stable due to the inserted fitting cloth but it did not prevent the humidity level from increasing.

  There are many kinds of knitting. However, we are not able to find an experimemtal data for the thermal insulation depend on various kinds of knitting. So that we tried to compare it among six kinds of basic knitting used ordinary.

  The following results were obtained from the experiments.

  We found high correlation between the heat loss of knitted fabric and mass (thickness, weight of plane). Accordingly, the thermal insulation increases with increasing amount of wool yarn used.

  Diapers have widely been used as essential nursing clothing for baby. Commercially available diapers are mainly classified into two, cloth and disposable, types. The latter is now more preferred in common.

  We surveyed the actual use of disposable diapers through questioning a number of mothers to acknowledge their manners and consciousness of the use. The results were also compared with those in 1985 as necessary.

  The findings are as follows :

  1) The consumption of disposable diapers was about six times greater as compared with 10 years ago, while the consumption of cloth diapers was declined to almost a half.

  2) It was taught that the disposable diapers were advantageous as they absorbed a more amount of urine, allow less leakage, and were detachable with much ease. The disadvantage of the disposable diapers was a higher price.

  3) Among the users of both types, the disposable diapers were chosen during the night or the long outing.

  4) With regard to the consciousness of diapers, it was concluded through the principle component analysis that the use of ”disposable diapers” was based on factors including ease of training, better quality and function, and less labor requirement, while the use of ”cloth diapers” involved higher labor repquirement but provided skin friendliness.

  We have developed a method of estimating, from somatometric values, foot deformation caused by wearing shoes. We measured 18 items of foot morphology by x-raying the bare and shoed feet of 218 samples, namely right and left feet of female subjects 59 women in their 20's and 50 in their 50's. For investigation, we set up 3 groups of the gained data, which are 1) somatometric measurement values of 8 itemes, 2) values of 18 bare foot measurement itemes, and 3) respective differences Δ values between bare and shoed foot values of 18 itemes, and then by cluster analysis, we classified them into 3 clusters respectively. The results are as follows :

(1) Investigating cluster-combinations of the 218 samples, we discover that 71% of all in their 20's and 50's are included in 5 cluster-combination types of great frequency.

(2) From these 5 types, it is possible to observe what parts of a foot are mostly pressed by shoes and subjected to deformation.

(3) By converting cluster analysis data into canonical discriminant analysis data, it is possible to calculate canonical variate (z₁, z₂) from somatometric measurements of 8 itemes, then we developed a method of estimating women's foot deformation by shoes.

  We have developed a CAI software for clothing education in home economics subject for junior high school students. The CAI software was constructed to design a suitable clothing life. Home economics was the subject that was needed to study practically and experientially. For making use of the characteristics of the subject, the constructed software was used included simulation mode in type of role-playing game.

  Several questions about affective domain were asked to investigate the effects by use of the software after studying with it. The results were as follows :

  The software could encourage students to study. After learning they could keep their eagerness to study. They would have their will to use practically knowledge that was acquired by the software in actual life. Education adapted to the students' ability and personality could be done by them studying with the software for themselves. They could develop their independence and creativity during positively using the software.