Doctor abandons hanging fabric — it’s imitation (5)
I believe the answer is:
apery
'it's imitation' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'doctor abandons hanging' is the wordplay.
'doctor' becomes 'dr' (abbreviation).
'abandons' indicates named letters should be taken away.
'hanging' becomes 'drapery' (I've seen this before).
'drapery' with 'dr' taken away is 'APERY'.
'fabric' is the link.
This may not be right. It may belong to another bit of the clue.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for apery that I've seen before include "Take-off" , "imitation" , "Imitative behaviour - repay (anag)" , "Mimicry" .)