SOFTAYO · BUYING GUIDE
Blacking out an awning or sliding window
Where the fasteners can actually go when the sash swings out, and how to plan a wide sliding opening.
Work out how the window opens first
An awning window is hinged at the top and pushes outward. A casement is hinged at the side and also swings out. A sliding window moves sideways along a track. A double-hung window moves up and down. This matters before anything else, because a cover attached to the moving part travels with it: if the sash swings out, the fabric goes with the sash and stops covering the opening.
Awning windows: plan for the frame, not the sash
With a top-hung sash there is usually a flat frame face around the opening and inside the reveal. That is where the adhesive dots can sit, with the fabric pressed onto them while the window stays closed. If the window is normally left partly open for airflow, a fabric cover is the wrong tool for that window: decide which you need before you buy. Hold the uncut sheet in position and check the reveal depth first.
Sliding windows: treat both panels as one opening
Measure the whole opening, including the fixed panel, width and height. Plan the overlap past each side so the edges land on frame rather than on glass, and check the bottom: a sliding window has a raised track, not a flat sill, so fabric that reaches the track will not sit flush. Do not attach to the sliding panel itself unless you never intend to open it.
Fly screens, stays and security fittings
Many Australian rentals have fly screens, window stays that limit how far a sash opens, or security screens. A screen reduces the usable depth between glass and frame, and a stay can block the space where a fastener would go. Look at the window as it actually is on the day, not as it appears in a product photo, and move the plan if a fitting is in the way.
When one sheet is not enough
One Softayo sheet is 145 cm wide by 300 cm long. Measure your widest opening before assuming a single sheet covers it: a wide sliding window or a large fixed pane may need two pieces, and joining two pieces leaves a visible seam and a place where light can pass. The two-window set exists for two separate openings; it does not turn one 210 cm opening into a seamless cover.
What this will not do
A removable fabric cover is not a permanent blind, and it is not designed to be left up with the window open. Fit, overlap and edge gaps decide the result more than the fabric does. Softayo does not publish a measured blackout percentage and makes no heat, noise or medical claim. If your window type or tenancy rules make any of the above unworkable, that is worth knowing before you order rather than after.
View the portable blackout kit →
More practical guides
- How to measure a window for a cut-to-fit blackout cover
- How to adjust a wraparound sleep mask
- Reusable earplugs: check the tips, fit and contents
- How to darken a rental without drilling
- Darkening a nursery in a rental: what you can and cannot change
- Will a 47 × 30 cm drying rack fit your sink?
Prepared by Softayo · 1 November 2026. Based on the current listed product and use information, not an independent performance test.