Drawing braids is hard! Anyone will tell you that. After watching a lot of tutorials and testing them, I've come up with a pretty good method for how to draw them.
Draw five lines in the direction you want the braid to go in.
2. Make a zig-zag between the second and fourth lines. This will be the middle of the braid.
3. Draw arcs between the points of the zig-zag.
4. Erase the guidelines and add the proper shading to the braid and you're done!
I hope this helps you!