Can I use the ʼFollow Meʼ tool to create moldings in SketchUp?
Short Answer
Yes — in SketchUp, you can use the Follow Me tool to create moldings by extruding a 2D profile along a selected path, which is the most common professional method for baseboards, crown, and trim. For clean results, the path and profile must be prepared carefully. It can fail on tight corners or messy geometry.
What You Need to Know Before
Warning: The most common hidden failure is profile orientation: if the molding profile is not drawn perpendicular to the path start, Follow Me can twist, flip, or generate malformed faces. Very small details can also break when SketchUp merges edges into surrounding geometry.
How to Create Moldings with Follow Me
Command: Follow Me
Shortcut: No default keyboard shortcut
Quick Steps:
- Draw the molding path first, then create the 2D molding profile at the start of that path using the Line/Arc tools; make sure the profile face is perpendicular to the path.
- Pre-select the full path, then go to Tools > Follow Me or click the Follow Me icon.
- Click the profile face to extrude it along the selected path; if needed, triple-click the result and make it a Group or Component to prevent sticking.
Variables & Settings
Key Setting: Soften/smooth edges
Expert Setting: After using Follow Me, open Window > Default Tray > Soften Edges and enable smoothing/softening as needed. This reduces visible segment lines on curved moldings and gives a clean finished profile without changing the actual path geometry.
Why it Fails
Cause 1 (Geometry): The profile is not perpendicular to the path, or the path contains very tight radii, short segments, or overlapping edges that cause twisting or broken faces.
Cause 2 (layers/Locks): The path or adjacent geometry is inside another group/component, locked, or raw geometry is touching other faces, so the new molding sticks or will not generate as expected.
Cause 3 (Command/Logic): The path was not selected before starting Follow Me, or the clicked face is not a valid closed face, so SketchUp extrudes the wrong region or does nothing.
Quick Fix & Best Practice
Quick Fix: Redraw the profile at the exact start of the path, perpendicular to the first segment, then pre-select the entire path before running Follow Me.
Manager’s Verdict: Use Follow Me for standard architectural moldings because it is the fastest and most reliable SketchUp workflow. Avoid it for highly detailed production joinery unless the geometry is grouped cleanly and tested at corners.
FAQ
Can Follow Me create crown molding in SketchUp?
Yes, that is one of its most common professional uses.
Why does my molding twist during Follow Me?
The profile is usually misaligned with the path start or the path geometry is too irregular.
Should I make moldings a group after using Follow Me?
Yes, grouping immediately helps prevent the molding from merging with nearby geometry.
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