For every workshop one of the name plaques includes what I call the 'rope trick'. It is a very cool feature of EnRoute.
The vectors were straight forward. I would build this file in segments and then merge highest as a last step. This would allow me the ability to control and adjust the heights of all the elements with total control and flexibility.
For the rope border I created a series of circle vectors which were then combined. You can see the result in the shot below this one... the small rope cross section on the lower left of the frame.
Then it was time to create the rope. I opened the extrude contours menu and then the various options. I wanted to create a mesh object. This will be turned into a relief later after it is in position. The slices and stacks determine how detailed your mesh will be. I tend to crank things way up but it makes for large files. Then I type in how many revolutions the rope will twist... this is a matter of trying a number and then doing it again with a different value if need be. Follow the steps in the menu to generate the mesh object.
-dan