Composite laminates having improved delamination resistance and useful for aircraft, marinecraft, automobiles, armor, and furniture are formed from plies of substrate which include fibers extending generally normal to the plane of the substrate. These plies of substrate can be, for example, tufted textiles wherein the tufts are formed by the fibers extending in the "z" direction. The fibers interlock with or are anchored in the substrate. Fibers from one ply intermesh with the fibers of an opposing ply. An organic binder sandwiched between the plies is cured to form the composite matrix. A method of making the laminates comprises applying the uncured binder to a tufted substrate to form a ply, stacking the plies, and applying heat and pressure to transform the binder to a matrix which substantially saturates the plies.