Decorative work needs time to be put in, note (8)
I believe the answer is:
crotchet
'note' is the definition.
(musical note)
'decorative work needs time to be put in' is the wordplay.
'decorative work' becomes 'crochet' (crochet is a decorative craft).
'needs time' becomes 't' (abbreviation. I am not sure about the 'needs' bit.).
'to be put in' is an insertion indicator.
'crochet' placed around 't' is 'CROTCHET'.
(Other definitions for crotchet that I've seen before include "Fancy" , "Peacock's castle" , "A note in music equal to half a minim" , "In music, it has quarter the time value of a whole note" , "perverse notion" .)