Lauren -- decades ago the advice given by doll museums was to use
day-old white bread and gently rub over, in this case, cloth dolls to
clean them. It works to some extent in removing grime and dust but not
deep stains.

Nancy Love wrote:

>Hi Lauren,
>
>I am guessing that bread and bread crumbs were used
>the way we use dry sponges now, by pressing the slice
>(of bread) to the textile surface to pick up soil.
>
>I read somewhere that bread was used in the past for
>cleaning frescos.
>
>
>
>
>