Rope that woman takes in was knotted (6)
I believe the answer is:
hawser
'rope' is the definition.
(hawser is a kind of rope)
'woman takes in was knotted' is the wordplay.
'woman' becomes 'her' (**).
'takes in' indicates putting letters inside.
'knotted' indicates an anagram.
'was' with letters rearranged gives 'aws'.
'her' going around 'aws' is 'HAWSER'.
'that' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for hawser that I've seen before include "Large heavy rope" , "Ship's mooring rope" , "Ship's tow-rope" , "Ship's large rope or small cable" , "Heavy rope for nautical use" .)