Abstract. In this paper, we introduce a new piecewise linear parameterization of 3D surface patches which provides a basis for texture mapping, morphing, remeshing, and geometry imaging. To lower distortion when flatting a 3D surface patch, we propose a new method to locally calculate straightest distances with cutting planes. Our new and simple technique demonstrates competitive results to the current leading parameterizations and will help many applications that require one-to-one mapping.