In military school I learned to sew by attaching my new corporal stripes, and then how to rip stitches out by taking them off every time I got busted back to private. Odysseus sewed, so did Robinson Crusoe and Joshua Slocum. My grandmother had a sewing machine, and I wish I had paid more attention. Over the years I came to realize that a sailboat has canvas in many forms, from the sails to the cushions to the hat on your head. So before setting out upon the fabric of the sea, I sat down to teach myself to sew.
