The bimini’s a sun shade/rain cover that is kept over the cockpit by 4 tubes. As we like being dry and shaded off during passages as well and never take our bimini down (some sailors do so regularly), it gets some wear and tear over the year. It got chafed through at the aft edge and we knew we’d have to repair that damage before it could get more serious.
Anyone who has ever tried to fit a new layer of fabric over a rounded, bent shape in 3D (on the bimini) and then transform that shape into 2D (in the sewing machine) knows that this is not a simple endeavour. On the second day a fourth dimension got into our way–the banana dimension.
When after fitting the bimini for the umptieth time in between and during squalls the shape still doesn’t fit, the original sunbrellas tears when opening the seam, the sewing machine blocks for the 100th time while sewing on the repair patch, because the new (and apparently indestructible) teflon thread gets twisted in the machine and the fabric has to be stuffed into the machine yet again the seamstress goes bananas–thus adding a new dimension to the whole job.
Now, at the end of a second entire working day, the bimini is finished and up again. Not quite perfect, with a few crinkles and crooked seams, but we’re still satisfied with it, as we know it’s in 4D 
