Eleven laces he knotted (7)
I believe the answer is:
chelsea
'eleven' is the definition.
Both the answer and definition are singular nouns.
Perhaps there's an association between them I don't understand?
'laces he knotted' is the wordplay.
'knotted' indicates an anagram.
'laces'+'he'='laceshe'
'laceshe' with letters rearranged gives 'CHELSEA'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for chelsea that I've seen before include "Word linking boot and bun" , "London soccer team" , "upmarket part of London" , "The Blues of Stamford Bridge" , "Part of our capital" .)