Judy, when my daughter made this she had some sewing experience but she would tell you she is not an expert and the bag she made literally looked like the ones you see in the fancy shops. She used corduroy for the exterior and regular cotton for the interior but you certainly could use the laminated cotton that the tutorial suggests. The laminated cottons are a little pricey but they sew just fine so that is something that really depends on whether or not being able to wipe out the interior would be a big benefit since the whole bag really is washable if needed.