Mother's appeal for table linen (6)
I believe the answer is:
damask
'table linen' is the definition.
(damask is a kind of table linen)
'mother's appeal' is the wordplay.
'mother' becomes 'dam' (female parent of an animal).
'appeal' becomes 'ask' (I've seen this in other clues).
'dam'+'ask'='DAMASK'
'for' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for damask that I've seen before include "Heavy embroidered linen" , "Silk or linen material woven with pattern on either side" , "Lustrous cloth" , "reversible material" , "Patterned material" .)