Instead of rope, I've been using elastic strips for about a week now. This is the kind of elastic you can sew into garments. I picked some up at a craft store, the kind that sells sewing supplies. I got about three feet of 3/4" wide elastic for 99 cents. I also bought 1/4" and 1/2" but those ended up feeling more "cutting" into the skin. So now I am just using the 3/4". I didn't find any 1", but now would like to try that.
I don't put a
ace bandage on underneath since I don't have one handy. Instead I have just put on a soft cloth strip. But you have to have something underneath, otherwise there is too much skin friction when wrapping (and especially unwrapping.) An
ace bandage may be the best thing, I'll have to try it soon.
Anyhow, with the elastic, you can start off the first wraps a little lighter, but then increase the tension to max as you add layer upon layer. The elastic constriction force is cummulative, so I've been getting a really good pressure.
My reason for trying something other than rope was that the couple times I tried the rope, I ended up breaking veins. Not really sure why, but with elastic I think I can lay on the pressure in a slower more controlled manner.