The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 9 letter word AXMINSTER
I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
A
X
M
I
N
S
T
E
R
More clues leading to the result AXMINSTER
- Saltire bedecked by a church's patterned covering
- Carpet and reportedly sack politician leaving India
- Cross set in a church floor covering
- Reportedly throw out church carpet
- Carpet
- Carpeting from a cross vicar I ignored once
- Carpet unorthodox at rear in a church
- Ten entering a church in Devon town
- Carpet American cut for church
- Carpet a church, around cross
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "patterned covering" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case patterned covering = axminster.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.