Small guard required for small piece of carpet (6)
I believe the answer is:
swatch
'for small piece of carpet' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this defines the answer.
'small guard' is the wordplay.
'small' becomes 's' (abbreviation - e.g. clothes size).
'guard' becomes 'watch' (watch is a kind of guard).
's'+'watch'='SWATCH'
'required' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for swatch that I've seen before include "Sample book" , "Carpet sample" , "Sample of fabric" , "Model" , "Sample piece of cloth or other material" .)