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Glenice's Quilted Sewing Duffle
Glenice's Quilted Sewing Duffle
Dispatched within 1–2 business days
90-day money-back guarantee
Free shipping Australia-wide, with tracking
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Glenice's Quilted Sewing Duffle
The Sewing Duffle Glenice Has Made for 37 Years – One Last Time
By Glenice Whitbread – 72, quilter and seamstress. About 3,800 duffles hand-quilted in the back room of her father’s 1961 sewing-machine shop. The final run, before the state duplicates the highway and the shop comes down.
“I learned to sew on Dad’s Featherweight when I was nine. Every bag I make still has that little machine on the front. I want every woman who carries one to feel like she’s bringing a mate along to her craft group.”
– Glenice Whitbread, Castlemaine, Victoria
Made by Hand in Castlemaine
Glenice sews in the back room of the Whitbread Sewing Centre, the narrow weatherboard shop her father Clem opened on the highway in 1961. The front still sells bobbins and presser feet. Behind the curtain are her pine shelves of quilting cotton, a pegboard full of cotton reels and the long scarred bench where every duffle is made.
She cuts each appliqué piece by hand – the little sewing machine, the cotton reels, the pincushion, the scissors – sews it down around every edge, and then hand-quilts the whole shell row by row. A duffle takes her around twenty hours. She has never taken anyone on and never used a factory.
At the end of winter the state notified her that the shop sits inside the road reserve of a highway duplication. She has until 31 December to move out. The duffles on her shelves are the last she will make in that room.
– Glenice
What Arrives at Your Door
One hand-quilted sewing duffle
In the design you choose: Crimson Floral, Lavender Garden, Sunny Gingham, Cornflower Blue or Teal Notions.
Packed by hand in Victoria
Folded and boxed by Glenice’s grandson Brodie, dispatched within 1–2 business days with tracking.
Why This Duffle Is Different
100% Hand-Quilted
The cotton shell is quilted by hand, row by row. That is what gives the duffle its soft padded feel, its shape and a texture no printed bag can copy.
Hand-Cut Appliqué
The sewing machine, cotton reels, pincushion, scissors and buttons are separate pieces of fabric, each sewn down around the edge. Run your fingers over them and you feel every one.
Cotton Over Polyester Batting
Premium quilting cotton outside, soft batting inside. The duffle stands up on its own, empty or packed full, and doesn’t slump on the seat of your car.
Padded Quilted Handles
Two padded handles, quilted along their full length, so they stay comfortable when the bag is heavy with fabric, notions or a weekend’s clothes.
YKK Wraparound Zip
A YKK zip runs the full length of the top and opens the bag wide, so you can see and reach everything inside without digging.
Room for a Whole Project
46 × 23 × 23 cm: fat quarters, a quilt in progress, thread, scissors and a rotary cutter – or two days of clothes and a toiletry bag.
“I have judged quilt shows for more than twenty years, and you learn to spot handwork from across the room. Glenice’s duffles have the dense, slightly irregular hand-quilting and the crisp appliqué edges that machines simply don’t produce. They are practical bags first – sturdy, roomy, easy to pack – but every one is also a small piece of Australian quilting history. When that shop closes, there won’t be anything like them.”
Judith Carmody
Five Designs in the Final Run
Crimson Floral
Black machine, red end panels, Dresden fan
Lavender Garden
Lavender machine, pitcher of lavender, daisies
Sunny Gingham
Black machine, yellow gingham, tape measure
Cornflower Blue
Navy machine, blue and yellow patchwork
Teal Notions
Teal machine, rows of colourful cotton reels
Made to Be Used
Pack it the night before
Unzip the full top and lay in your blocks, fat quarters, thread box and scissors. The flat base keeps everything upright.
Carry it to your craft group, class or retreat
The padded handles fit comfortably over your forearm, and the bag stands on its own on the floor next to your chair.
Use it for weekends, too
When you’re not sewing, it’s a roomy weekender for a night at the grandkids’ or a short trip – it fits easily in an overhead locker.
Keep it looking good for years
Spot-clean with a damp cloth and let it air dry. The hand-quilting softens and settles with use, the way real quilts do.
Glenice’s Duffle vs. the Printed Copies Online
| Printed copies | Glenice’s duffle | |
|---|---|---|
| Motif | Flat photo print on the fabric | Hand-cut appliqué, sewn around every edge |
| Quilting | Machine pattern, often just printed on | Hand-quilted cotton shell |
| Shape | Slumps when empty | Stands on its own, empty or full |
| Zip | Unbranded, often snags | YKK wraparound zip |
| Who made it | An anonymous factory | Glenice, at one bench in Castlemaine |
Perfect For
What Makes It Different
100% hand-quilted cotton. Real handwork, not a machine pattern. Around twenty hours of Glenice’s time in every duffle.
Hand-appliquéd sewing scene. The little sewing machine, cotton reels, pincushion and scissors are each cut and sewn on by hand, some with a raised edge.
Premium polyester batting. Holds the bag’s shape, protects what’s inside and softens with use.
YKK wraparound zip. The same zip grade used in good luggage. Opens wide for easy packing and runs smoothly on a full bag.
Made by one woman. No factory, no assembly line, no second pair of hands – from the first cut to the last stitch.
🛡️ 90-Day Money-Back Guarantee
If you don’t love your duffle within 90 days, send it back and you’ll get a full refund. No forms, no questions, no hassle – Glenice wants every one of them to go to someone who will use it.
A note about handmade variation
Every duffle is cut, appliquéd and quilted by hand, so the placement of a cotton reel or a flower and the path of the quilting lines can vary slightly from the photos. That is the mark of real handwork, not a flaw.
Care: spot-clean with a damp cloth, air dry. Please don’t machine wash or tumble dry, to protect the appliqué and the hand-quilting.
Product Details
| Material | Hand-quilted premium cotton, polyester batting |
| Decoration | Hand-cut cotton appliqué with embroidered details |
| Dimensions | 46 × 23 × 23 cm (L × W × H) |
| Capacity | About 22 litres – a full sewing project or a weekend’s clothes |
| Closure | YKK wraparound zip |
| Handles | Two padded, quilted carry handles |
| Designs | Crimson Floral, Lavender Garden, Sunny Gingham, Cornflower Blue, Teal Notions |
| Care | Spot-clean only, air dry |
| Made in | Castlemaine, Victoria, by Glenice Whitbread |
| Shipping | Dispatched within 1–2 business days, with tracking |
| Guarantee | 90-day money-back guarantee |
The Final Series
The Final Series
Some things are made by one pair of hands, for decades, and then never again.
The Final Series is the last work of craftspeople who are putting down their tools. No factory, no successor, no second batch.
Just the final pieces from their workshops, each one shaped by a lifetime of getting it right.
When they're gone, they're gone.
Free Shipping Australia-wide
Free Shipping Australia-wide
Free shipping Australia-wide
- Dispatched within 1–2 business days, with tracking
- Every duffle is packed by hand by Glenice’s grandson Brodie
- Size: about 46 × 23 × 23 cm, YKK wraparound zip
- Spot-clean only, air dry
- 90-day money-back guarantee — just email info@backroad-goods.com
Frequently Asked Questions
Got a question? Here’s how to reach us.
Got a question? Here’s how to reach us.
Email us anytime at info@backroad-goods.com. We answer Monday–Friday 9am–5pm and Saturday 10am–3pm (AEST) – whether it’s about your order, a present, or just to say hello to Glenice.
Can I return it if it’s not for me?
Can I return it if it’s not for me?
Of course. 90-day money-back guarantee. Pack it, take it to craft group, take it away for a weekend – and if it simply isn’t right for you, email info@backroad-goods.com within 90 days for a full refund. No questions asked.