Creating true braided geometry in SketchUp was painful, so I built a parametric tool for it
As designers, we often spend hours solving the same modeling problem repeatedly.
One challenge I kept running into was creating true braided geometry in SketchUp.
Not twisted wires.
Not simple helices.
Real braided structures where strands continuously pass over and under each other in a repeating pattern.
This became useful while exploring architectural visualization, interior design, decorative elements, furniture details, lighting fixtures, and product rendering.
Modeling these forms manually was possible, but it was slow, difficult to modify, and not practical for iterative design workflows.
So I started building Live Braid Builder — a parametric SketchUp tool that generates braided structures with control over dimensions, strand count, braid density, and geometry quality.
What began as a modeling problem turned into a small workflow tool that can be adapted across different design disciplines.
I’m curious: how would you use braided geometry in your own design or visualization workflow?