Blackout vs Dimout vs Sheer: Which Curtain Fabric Do You Need?
By the JOTEX Fabrics product team · Updated
Short answer
Sheer fabric lets daylight in and gives privacy by day only. Dimout cuts glare and gives privacy day and night, but lets a soft glow through. Blackout blocks almost all light. Most Malaysian homes hang a sheer and a dimout or blackout together on a double track, and choose blackout for bedrooms where full darkness matters.
The three fabrics side by side
The difference between the three is how much light passes through the cloth, and that decides everything else: privacy, glare, heat and how the room feels.
| Sheer | Dimout | Blackout | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Light through the fabric | Most daylight; softened and diffused | Reduced to a soft glow | Almost none |
| Privacy by day | Yes, from outside looking in | Yes | Yes |
| Privacy at night | No: with lights on inside, people can see in | Yes | Yes |
| Glare on screens | Softened | Largely cut | Removed |
| Heat from the sun | Little effect | Some reduction | The most reduction, especially coated blackouts |
| Weight | Very light | Medium | Medium to heavy |
| Typical rooms | Living, dining, any room as a day layer | Living rooms, offices, most bedrooms | Bedrooms, nurseries, media rooms, hotels |
Sheer curtains
A sheer is a lightweight, open weave, often called a voile. It filters daylight, softens harsh sun and screens the room from the street during the day, because it is brighter outside than in. At night the effect reverses: with the lights on, a sheer on its own gives no privacy.
That is why a sheer is almost always the day layer of a pair. Good sheers are wide and light: CALLIE is a 100% polyester sheer at about 89 gsm and 325 cm wide, and VALERY is an 80% polyester, 20% linen blend at about 106 gsm and 320 cm wide for a more textured, natural look. Widths above three metres let a curtain maker run the fabric sideways and make floor-to-ceiling sheers with no vertical joins. See the sheer curtains guide for types, colours and fullness.
Dimout curtains
Dimout, sometimes sold as room-darkening, is a denser, heavier weave than a sheer. It gives full privacy day and night and cuts most glare, but a soft glow of daylight still comes through the cloth, so the room never feels shut in. It is the everyday curtain for living rooms, dining rooms and home offices.
Dimout is the largest part of the JOTEX catalogue, from plains to stripes, checks, florals and herringbones. LAUREN is a 100% polyester plain at about 225 gsm and 300 cm wide, and COMO is a 100% polyester plain at about 280 gsm and 320 cm wide, rated at 20,000 Martindale rubs so it can double as a cushion fabric.
If a dimout is not quite dark enough for a bedroom, it can be given a blackout lining. That keeps the look and feel of the face fabric and adds full darkness behind it.
Blackout curtains
Blackout fabric blocks almost all light passing through it. There are three common ways to make a curtain blackout:
- Coated blackout. A backing, often a foam or silicone-type coating, is applied to the reverse of the fabric. It is fully opaque and adds some thermal and acoustic insulation. MIDORI from TEKUSU is 100% polyester with a silicon backing at about 400 gsm.
- Woven blackout. The opacity is woven in, usually with a dense black yarn in the middle of the cloth. The fabric looks and handles like an ordinary curtain fabric on both sides. AMAYA is an 85% polyester, 15% linen blackout in a check at about 290 gsm and 280 cm wide.
- Lined blackout. Any face fabric sewn to a separate blackout lining. This is the way to make a sheer-look, velvet or jacquard curtain fully dark. See the curtain lining guide.
Blackout has some drawbacks worth knowing before you choose it. Coated fabrics are heavier and stiffer, and the coating can crack if the curtain is washed hot or folded hard, so check the care label. A fully dark room can feel closed in during the day, which is why blackout is best paired with a sheer. And the fabric only blocks light through the cloth: light still leaks around the edges unless the curtain is installed well. See the blackout curtains guide for stopping light leaks.
Which fabric for which room
| Room | Recommended | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Master bedroom | Blackout, or dimout with a blackout lining, plus a sheer | Dark for sleep, soft light by day |
| Nursery and children's rooms | Blackout plus a sheer | Daytime naps need a truly dark room |
| Living room | Dimout plus a sheer | Privacy and less glare without losing daylight |
| Dining room | Sheer, or sheer plus dimout | Light and open by day, private in the evening |
| Home office | Dimout plus a sheer | Cuts screen glare, keeps the room bright |
| Media room or home cinema | Blackout | Screens need the room dark |
| West-facing rooms | Blackout or lined dimout | Blocks the strongest afternoon heat and sun |
| Hotel rooms | Blackout plus a sheer on a double track | Guests expect a dark room at any hour |
Layering sheer and blackout on a double track
The most common set-up in Malaysian homes and condominiums is a double curtain track: the sheer on the track nearest the window and the dimout or blackout curtain on the room side. By day the main curtain is drawn back and the sheer does the work; at night the main curtain closes over it.
- Fullness. Allow two to two-and-a-half times the track width for pleated and S-fold headings on both layers. See curtain styles for each heading.
- Headings. Using the same heading on both layers, for example S-fold on both, gives the neatest stack when the curtains are open.
- Stopping light leaks. For a dark room, use a ceiling-mounted track or a pelmet to close the gap at the top, a track with returns to close the sides, and a generous overlap where the two curtains meet.
- Motorised tracks. A motorised double track lets both layers open and close on a schedule. JOTEX Sunshades supplies motorised tracks and blinds. See Curtains vs Blinds.
JOTEX sheer collections
Lightweight polyester and linen-blend sheers, most over three metres wide. See all of them on the sheer fabric page.
- ANTONIAJOTEX FABRICS · 100% POLYESTER · 36 colourways
- CALGARYJOTEX FABRICS · 100% POLYESTER · 48 colourways
- CALLIEJOTEX FABRICS · 100% PES · 62 colourways
- DAYLIGHTJOTEX FABRICS · 100% POLYESTER · 54 colourways
- DIMOSPOSH CREATION · 100% POLYESTER · 9 colourways
- FURLEYJOTEX FABRICS · 100% PES · 44 colourways
- GRADIENTJOTEX FABRICS · 100% POLYESTER · 6 colourways
- HENSLEYPOSH CREATION · 100% POLYESTER · 30 colourways
- MAPLEPOSH CREATION · 100% POLYESTER · 27 colourways
- MARTHAJOTEX FABRICS · 100% POLYESTER · 24 colourways
- MIAJOTEX FABRICS · 100% PES · 34 colourways
- NATORIJOTEX FABRICS · 100% PES · 47 colourways
- OBERONPOSH CREATION · 100% POLYESTER · 29 colourways
- PISOJOTEX FABRICS · 100% POLYESTER · 4 colourways
- VALERYJOTEX FABRICS · 80% PES 20% LINEN · 31 colourways
- ZONAPOSH CREATION · 100% POLYESTER · 17 colourways
JOTEX dimout collections
Plains, stripes, checks, florals and herringbones for everyday curtains. See all of them on the dimout fabric page.
- ALASKAPOSH CREATION · 100% POLYESTER · 30 colourways
- ARMANIPOSH CREATION · 100% POLYESTER · 36 colourways
- COMOJOTEX FABRICS · 100% PES · 61 colourways
- CORAJOTEX FABRICS · 100% PES · 56 colourways
- DANIJOTEX FABRICS · 100% PES · 32 colourways
- GLAVINJOTEX FABRICS · 100% PES · 22 colourways
- INDIGOJOTEX FABRICS · 100% PES · 31 colourways
- KAYLAJOTEX FABRICS · 100% PES · 27 colourways
- KENDLEJOTEX FABRICS · 100% PES · 32 colourways
- LEXIJOTEX FABRICS · 100% PES · 32 colourways
- LIBERTYJOTEX FABRICS · 100% PES · 34 colourways
- LYNNJOTEX FABRICS · 100% PES · 20 colourways
- MELAPOSH CREATION · 100% POLYESTER · 30 colourways
- MISIAPOSH CREATION · 100% POLYESTER · 35 colourways
- OREGONPOSH CREATION · 100% POLYESTER · 39 colourways
- PEMAJOTEX FABRICS · 100% PES · 31 colourways
- RANEYJOTEX FABRICS · 100% PES · 31 colourways
- REGENTJOTEX FABRICS · 100% POLYESTER · 32 colourways
- ROMEPOSH CREATION · 100% PES · 45 colourways
- SANARAJOTEX FABRICS · 100% POLYESTER · 25 colourways
- ULTRAJOTEX FABRICS · 100% PES · 45 colourways
JOTEX blackout collections
Coated, woven and linen-blend blackouts for bedrooms, nurseries and hotels. See all of them on the blackout fabric page.
- AKARITEKUSU · 100% PES · 34 colourways
- AMAYAJOTEX FABRICS · 85% PES 15% LINEN · 38 colourways
- BASICJOTEX FABRICS · 100% PES · 22 colourways
- DORAJOTEX FABRICS · 100% PES · 20 colourways
- HANAKOTEKUSU · 100% PES · 31 colourways
- HAYDENJOTEX FABRICS · 100% PES · 27 colourways
- KANOTEKUSU · 100% POLYESTER · 35 colourways
- MIDORITEKUSU · 100% POLYESTER, SILICON BACKING · 23 colourways
- POLNAPOSH CREATION · 100% POLYESTER · 42 colourways
- RINATEKUSU · 100% POLYESTER · 26 colourways
- SADAKOTEKUSU · 100% PES · 27 colourways
- TAKARATEKUSU · 100% POLYESTER · 23 colourways
Frequently asked questions
What does dimout mean?
Dimout is a curtain fabric that reduces daylight rather than blocking it. It gives full privacy and cuts glare, but lets a soft glow through. It sits between a sheer, which lets most light in, and a blackout, which blocks almost all of it.
Is dimout the same as room darkening?
The terms are used for the same kind of fabric: one that darkens a room noticeably without making it fully dark. Blackout is the only one of the three intended to block almost all light.
Blackout or dimout for a bedroom?
Choose blackout if you need the room fully dark, for example for shift workers, babies or light sleepers. Choose dimout if you like waking to some daylight. A dimout curtain with a blackout lining gives the look of dimout with the darkness of blackout.
What are the disadvantages of blackout curtains?
Coated blackouts are heavier and stiffer than ordinary curtains, and the coating can crack if washed hot. A fully dark room can feel closed in during the day. And light still leaks around the edges unless the curtain is installed with a ceiling track or pelmet, side returns and a centre overlap.
Can people see through sheer curtains at night?
Yes. A sheer gives privacy by day because it is brighter outside than in. At night, with lights on inside, people outside can see in, so pair the sheer with a dimout or blackout curtain on a double track.
Do blackout curtains keep a room cooler?
They help. A blackout, especially a coated one, blocks much of the sun's heat at the window, so west-facing rooms heat up less and the air-conditioner works less hard. Keep them closed during the hottest part of the afternoon.
Curtain maker, upholsterer or designer?
Specifications are public on every collection page. JOTEX dealers can log in for live stock and pricing. Contact the JOTEX team to request samples or open a dealer account.