A composite forming fabric for a papermaking machine woven according to a repeating fabric weave pattern is provided. The fabric includes a paper side (PS) layer having a PS surface, with the PS layer including PS warps and PS wefts interwoven in a first repeating pattern, and a machine side (MS) layer having a MS surface, with the MS layer including interwoven MS warps and MS wefts. A plurality of pairs of binder weft yarns each including first and second binder weft yarns that are interwoven with the PS warps and the MS warps to bind the PS and MS layers together in the composite forming fabric. In each pattern repeat of the fabric weave pattern at least three of the MS warps pass under each MS weft, where said at least three of the MS warps are co-located adjacent to one another with a further one of the MS warps separating a first of the at least three warps from the others of said at least three warps, and each of the MS warps interlaces with at least two non-adjacent ones of the MS wefts.