Inspected fabric cut up (8)
I believe the answer is:
examined
'inspected' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'fabric cut up' is the wordplay.
'fabric' becomes 'denim' (denim is a kind of fabric).
'cut' becomes 'axe' (I've seen this before).
'up' says the letters should be written backwards (in down clue: letters go upwards).
'denim'+'axe'='denimaxe'
'denimaxe' in reverse letter order is 'EXAMINED'.
(Other definitions for examined that I've seen before include "Closely inspected" , "Questioned closely" , "Considered in detail" , "Looked into something closely" , "I need Max to be tested" .)