Police officer wants unwrapped fabric on the top (8)
I believe the answer is:
sergeant
'police officer' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'unwrapped fabric on the top' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'fabric' could be 'serge' (serge is a kind of fabric) and 'serge' is found within the answer.
'the' could be 't' (the is pronounced as a 't' sound in some dialects) and 't' is located in the answer.
The remaining letters 'an' 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).
'wants' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for sergeant that I've seen before include "Estrange from junior army officer" , "Gets near (anag) -- NCO" , "one with stripes" , "CARRY ON FILM" , "officer of the law" .)