Peaceful child initially swathed in patterned cloth (6)
I believe the answer is:
placid
'peaceful' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
'child initially swathed in patterned cloth' is the wordplay.
'initially' suggests taking the first letters.
'swathed in' means one lot of letters goes inside another (swathe can mean to wrap).
'patterned cloth' becomes 'plaid' (I've seen this in another clue).
The first letter of 'child' is 'c'.
'c' going within 'plaid' is 'PLACID'.
(Other definitions for placid that I've seen before include "Calm and free from disturbance" , "Tranquil, even-tempered" , "Still - US lake" , "Calm of nature" , "Calm and not easily upset" .)