French chalk?

[wolfies@xxxxxxxxxxx]

Hello again,

I'm back with another conservation question. I appreciate this list's
willingness to share knowledge with the underinformed, and I do try to keep
my questions infrequent--I realize that the list's function is not to
educate non-professionals. If anyone can take the time to respond, I will
appreciate it very much.

My question has arisen on the hand-stitching newsgroup,
rec.crafts.textiles.needlework, read daily by somewhere between ten and
twenty thousand stitchers:  Is French chalk a good and conservationally
correct method of cleaning contemporary or antique embroidered textiles,
especially those whose dyes (of fabric or thread) cannot survive water?

TIA,
Nan Evelyn