Delamination in composite laminates may arise from either fabrication processes or impact during service. In transversely stitched composites, the delamination is not completely separated but is held together by the stitches. In this paper, the influence of stitching on the buckling of and delamination extension in laminates is examined on the assumption that the stitches follow a Winkler elastic foundation type of stress-separation relation. Delamination extension is governed by the Griffith fracture criterion in which the total elastic strain energy release rate, G, calculated from the sum of contributions from bending, axial compression, stitching and residual axial compression exceeds the fracture toughness, G c, of the matrix material. It is shown that adequate stitching can significantly increase the strength of composite laminates under edgewise compression.