Cutting hem back, I see a soft fabric (6)
I believe the answer is:
mohair
'soft fabric' is the definition.
(type of soft fabric)
'cutting hem back i see a' is the wordplay.
'cutting' means one lot of letters goes inside another (some letters cut their way into a word).
'hem' becomes 'rim' (both can mean an edge).
'back' shows that the letters should be reversed in order.
'i see' becomes 'oh' (both can mean 'I understand').
'rim' reversed gives 'mir'.
'oh'+'a'='oha'
'mir' placed around 'oha' is 'MOHAIR'.
(Other definitions for mohair that I've seen before include "Goat's silky coating as material for shiny clothes" , "Fabric made from the coat of an Angora goat" , "Fine silky wool of the angora goat" , "Fine goat's cloth" , "Fabric made from fine silky wool of goat" .)