Letting the epoxy tack up before sticking the fabric to it may serve to hold the fabric in place. However, it is likely the fabric will not wet out clear. The sticky epoxy will only partially into the cloth. And the next application of fresh epoxy may be blocked from soaking in by the partially cured epoxy.

This is exactly what happened on a test piece I tried. The cloth adhered well to the piece but seemed that only the bottom surface of the cloth soaked up any epoxy. A second coat of epoxy only penetrated the top surface of the cloth. Not a method I would trust.
I have used the rope as an edging on some paddles. Also have used narrow flat webbing. The rope works very well and looks good.