I was thinking of oilskin which would look completely awesome, but I want to be able to chuck it in the wash. I've ordered some 7 and 10 oz. plain canvas. I also have lots of heavy duty threads from my leather working so I've contemplated doing detail stitching by hand. Except I have a stuffed shoulder so will have to do most of it on the machine I'm having to use all my tools in opposite-to-normal hands currently and it's just not quite as accurate or speedy.