Pay for the cloth (7)
I believe the answer is:
stipend
'pay' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'the cloth' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'the' could be 't' (the is pronounced as a 't' sound in some dialects) and 't' is found within the answer.
'cloth' could be 'end' (end is a kind of cloth) and 'end' is present in the answer.
The remaining letters 'sip' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
'for' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for stipend that I've seen before include "Tips end badly in an emolument" , "Pay (clerical)" , "Church pay" , "Money paid periodically" , "Wage" .)