The rope was the most difficult part.
When I would think of way to accomplish the task, I kept rubbing up against "available in the Pro version only."
Then there was those nagging limitations of the operator, as well

.
I ended up using a set three 3D splines constructed over a frame which was spaced to give a good looking twist, then sweep extruding the rope yarns individually along the splines--only to run into the maximum number of sections allowed... My first attempts were so angular they looked like something the Tin Woodman might have admired.
Eventually I did the straight and curved sections separately and assembled them.
I would bet that there are people here would could have streamlined the whole process.
Thanks for the kind responses.