Espies manly regulars using this to make rope (5)
I believe the answer is:
sisal
'rope' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'espies manly regulars' is the wordplay.
'regulars' means one should take alternating letters (letters selected at regular intervals).
'espies'+'manly'='espiesmanly'
The alternate letters of 'espiesmanly' are 'SISAL'.
'using this to make' acts as a link.
This may not be correct. Some or all of it may be part of another bit of the clue.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for sisal that I've seen before include "Fibrous plant used for rope" , "Fibre-yielding agave" , "Plant producing rope" , "Plant yielding rope fibre" , "material for painter, say?" .)