Choosing the Right Fabric
Fabric is the single biggest decision you'll make about an outdoor blind or awning — bigger than the frame, bigger than the motor. It decides how much sun you block, how much you can see out, how private you are, and how the whole thing looks from the street. This guide walks you through it in the order the decisions actually happen.
Start here: what job is the fabric doing?
Every fabric we sell falls into one of three families. Get this right and the rest is detail.
| Family | What it does | You'll find it on |
|---|---|---|
| Mesh | Blocks sun, heat and glare while still letting air through and letting you see out. It is not waterproof — light rain runs off, driving rain gets through. | Ziptrak®, straight drops, side‑retention blinds, Alpha range, shopfront awnings |
| Acrylic canvas | Solid, opaque shade with a soft fabric look. Sheds rain, holds colour for years, and comes in real colours and stripes rather than greys. | Folding arm awnings, Dutch hoods, cupolas, fixed and pivot‑arm awnings |
| Clear & tinted PVC | A see‑through weather wall. Keeps wind and rain out completely while you keep the view. The "café blind" look. | Ziptrak®, shopfront awnings and roller-top straight drop blinds |
The quickest way to decide: if you want to keep using the space on a hot afternoon, choose mesh. If you want to keep using it in the rain, choose PVC. If you are shading a window or a courtyard and you want it to look like a proper awning, choose acrylic canvas.
Sunscreen mesh: openness is the whole story
Mesh is rated by openness factor — the percentage of the fabric that is actually holes. It is one number that tells you almost everything: a lower number means more shade, more privacy and less view; a higher number means more view, more breeze and less block‑out.
| Openness | Sun blocked | What it feels like | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6% | ~94% | Bright and airy. You can read the number on the house across the road. | Views you don't want to lose; areas that need airflow |
| 5% | ~95% | The all‑rounder. Comfortable shade, view still clearly there. | Most patios, decks and balconies |
| 2% | ~98% | Noticeably darker and more private; the view is softened rather than lost. | West‑facing walls; neighbours a bit close |
| 1% | ~99% | Serious privacy. In daylight nobody sees in; you still get a hint of outside. | Full‑sun elevations; street‑facing rooms; bedrooms |
| 0% (block‑out) | 100% | A solid wall. No view, no light, and much better at holding out weather. | Turning a patio into a genuinely enclosed room |
The one thing people get wrong: mesh works one way. In daylight you can see out and nobody can see in. After dark, with the lights on inside, that reverses. If night‑time privacy matters, go to 1% or block‑out.
Our mesh range: two brands, three levels
We deliberately keep the mesh range short. There are dozens of screen fabrics on the Australian market and most of them are the same thing with a different label. We carry two brands we trust, in the openness levels that actually get used.
Skyline — the value choice
A lighter, finer PVC‑coated screen with a clean modern look. Because the yarn is thinner it rolls up tighter, so it suits jobs where headbox space is limited. It carries the same 10‑year fabric warranty as our standard range, a QM5 Australian fire rating and GREENGUARD Gold certification — this is a value fabric, not a cheap one.
| Fabric | Openness | Weight | Colours | Choose it when |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Skyline 94 | 6% | 595 gsm | 9 | You want shade without losing the view, on a sensible budget |
| Skyline 99 | 1% | 670 gsm | 8 | You want privacy and heat rejection, on a sensible budget |
Worth knowing: Skyline is lighter than our standard range. On very wide spans a lighter fabric is more prone to a slight sag through the middle. We recommend it up to about 4 m wide — past that, or on an exposed windy site, step up to Vistaweave.
Vistaweave 95 — the standard
If you asked us to pick one fabric for one job without knowing anything about the site, this is it. Vistaweave has been the benchmark Australian screen mesh for decades. The 95 sits at 5% openness — the balance point most people are happiest with — and it comes in by far the widest colour range we carry, including 14 COLORBOND®‑matched shades so the blind can disappear against your roof, gutter or fence.
- 5% openness · blocks about 95% of solar energy
- 530 gsm · 10‑year fabric warranty
- 38 colours, including 14 COLORBOND® matches
- ISO 9001 and 14001, OEKO‑TEX, GREENGUARD and Ecospecifier certified
- Available in widths to 320 cm, so fewer joins on wide blinds
Vistaweave 98, 99 and MAX — the upgrades
Same brand, same warranty, tuned for more privacy, more strength or full block‑out. These are step‑ups from the 95 rather than different products.
| Fabric | Openness | Weight | Colours | Why you'd upgrade to it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vistaweave 98 | 2% | 560–580 gsm | 9 | More privacy than the 95 without going all the way to 99. The in‑between choice. |
| Vistaweave 99 | 1% | 710 gsm | 11 | The heavyweight. Highest wind resistance in the range and least likely to sag on a wide blind. Coastal and exposed sites. |
| Vistaweave MAX | 0% | 650 gsm | 10 | Total block‑out. Turns a patio into a room, and holds out wind and rain far better than an open mesh. |
| Vistaweave MAX COLORBOND® Stripe | 0% | 650 gsm | 7 | Block‑out with a two‑tone COLORBOND®‑matched stripe, for when the blind should tie into the building colours. |
A note on heavy fabrics. Vistaweave 99 is the heaviest mesh we sell. On a large motorised blind that extra weight matters — it needs a motor sized for it. We work that out for you when you configure, so you do not need to.
Every mesh, side by side
| Fabric | Level | Open | Sun blocked | Weight | Max width | Colours | Warranty |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Skyline 94 | Value | 6% | 94% | 595 gsm | 320 cm | 9 | 10 yrs |
| Skyline 99 | Value | 1% | 99% | 670 gsm | 320 cm | 8 | 10 yrs |
| Vistaweave 95 | Standard | 5% | 95% | 530 gsm | 320 cm | 38 | 10 yrs |
| Vistaweave 98 | Premium | 2% | 98% | 560–580 gsm | 320 cm | 9 | 10 yrs |
| Vistaweave 99 | Premium | 1% | 99% | 710 gsm | 300 cm | 11 | 10 yrs |
| Vistaweave MAX | Premium | 0% | 100% | 650 gsm | 320 cm | 10 | 10 yrs |
| Vistaweave MAX Stripe | Premium | 0% | 100% | 650 gsm | 320 cm | 7 | 10 yrs |
Acrylic canvas: for awnings you look at, not through
Canvas is what goes on a folding arm awning, a Dutch hood, a cupola or a traditional pivot‑arm awning. It is opaque, it sheds rain, and unlike mesh it comes in proper colours — solids, stripes and patterns. All of our canvas is solution‑dyed acrylic unless noted, which means the colour goes right through the fibre instead of sitting on the surface. That is why a good acrylic awning still looks right after ten summers.
| Fabric | Character | Range | Warranty | Choose it when |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dickson Orchestra Classic | Neutral architectural solids | 12–15 | 10 yrs | You want the awning to sit quietly with the house. The safe, right answer. |
| Dickson Orchestra Traditional | Heritage stripes | 15–18 | 10 yrs | Federation, Victorian or period homes where a plain awning would look wrong. |
| Dickson Orchestra Designer | Graphic patterns and textures | 20–25 | 10 yrs | The awning is a feature and you want it noticed. |
| Dickson Orchestra Luxury | Rich saturated colours and premium stripes | 25–30 | 10 yrs | High‑end residential where the colour has to be exactly right. |
| Dickson MAX | Waterproof‑coated acrylic, about 350 gsm | ~30 | 10 yrs | The awning stays out permanently and needs to properly shed rain, not just shrug it off. |
| Docril Colours | Spanish solution‑dyed acrylic, Teflon finish | 27 solids | 10 yrs | You want excellent colour fastness and a finish that shrugs off stains and bird mess. |
| Docril Design | Docril in stripes and patterns | Multiple | 10 yrs | You want a pattern but not at Dickson Designer money. |
| Classic Brella Canvas | Woven acrylic with Bionic Finish® water and oil repellent | 50+ | 5 yrs | Colour choice matters most — this is the widest palette we carry. |
| HD Duraguard Canvas | Heavy‑duty solution‑dyed acrylic, PFAS‑free water repellent | 20–30 | 10 yrs | Coastal, salt‑exposed, or anywhere the fabric will cop a hammering. |
| Somerton Canvas | Australian‑made 510 gsm poly‑cotton | 49 | 5 yrs | You want the traditional heavy‑canvas look and feel, Australian‑made. |
Canvas comes on narrower rolls. Most acrylic canvas is made 120–220 cm wide, so a wide awning will have seams. That is normal and structurally fine — on striped fabrics the seams usually fall in the stripe and disappear.
Clear and tinted PVC: keeping the weather out
PVC is the only fabric here that genuinely seals a space. Rain, wind, cold — all stopped, while you keep looking at the garden. It is the reason people actually use their outdoor rooms in winter.
- Clear — maximum view and light. The default choice.
- Tinted — takes the edge off glare and hides the interior a little, at a small cost to clarity.
The trade‑off is that PVC does not breathe. On a hot day a fully closed PVC blind will trap heat, which is exactly what you do not want in January. Plenty of customers run PVC on the windward side and mesh on the sunny side — both fit the same track system, so you can mix them across a run of blinds.
Still deciding? Pick the row that sounds like you
| What matters most | Our pick |
|---|---|
| "The afternoon sun is unbearable but I do not want to lose the view" | Vistaweave 95 — or Skyline 94 to save a little |
| "The neighbours can see straight onto our deck" | Vistaweave 99 or Skyline 99 (1% openness) |
| "We want to actually use the patio in winter" | Clear PVC, or Vistaweave MAX for full block‑out |
| "It is a wide opening and we are on an exposed, windy site" | Vistaweave 99 — the heaviest, most stable mesh we sell |
| "I want it to match the roof and gutters exactly" | Vistaweave 95 — 14 COLORBOND® matched colours |
| "Budget is the deciding factor, but I do not want rubbish" | Skyline 94 or 99 — same 10‑year fabric warranty, lower price |
| "It is a folding arm awning over the back door" | Dickson Orchestra Classic acrylic canvas |
| "It is a heritage home and it has to look period‑correct" | Dickson Orchestra Traditional stripes |
| "We are near the beach and everything corrodes" | HD Duraguard canvas, or Vistaweave 99 mesh |
| "It is a commercial job and the specifier wants fire ratings" | Any Vistaweave (BCA fire‑retardant) or Skyline 94 (QM5) |
Warranty, fire ratings and looking after it
Warranty
Every mesh in our range carries a 10‑year fabric warranty from the manufacturer, whichever level you choose. Acrylic canvas is 10 years on the Dickson, Docril and HD Duraguard ranges, and 5 years on Classic Brella and Somerton. Fabric warranty covers the fabric itself; the blind or awning hardware carries its own manufacturer warranty — see our Warranty page.
Fire ratings
For a house this rarely comes up. For anything commercial — a café, a school, aged care, a multi‑dwelling building — the specifier will usually want AS 1530.3 indices or an equivalent QM rating. All Vistaweave meshes meet BCA fire‑retardant requirements and Skyline 94 carries a QM5 rating. If you are on a project with a fire spec, tell us and we will send the certificate.
Looking after it
- Hose the fabric down every few months — more often near the coast, where salt builds up.
- Mild soapy water and a soft brush for marks. Never a pressure washer, never solvents or bleach.
- Always roll it up dry. Rolling a wet blind away is the single most common cause of mould, on any fabric.
- Retract in strong wind. The fabric is strong; the leverage of a big blind in a gale is stronger.
Not sure which way to go?
Tell us which direction the area faces, roughly how wide it is, and what is annoying you about it now — sun, wind, neighbours or rain. We will tell you which fabric we would put on our own house.