Misc DIY ideas and Fabric pros and cons
If you are using it near a fire material resistant to embers like 500 denier may be worth it especially if your primary transport is canoe/ATV or pack horse etc.:
Here is just one example but there are probably 100 more if you go looking:
http://www.rockywoods.com/Fabrics-Ki...-Retardant-ACU
Water resistant and treated with flame retardant.
All you need to know is how to sew a basic seam on a sewing machine or know someone who does.
Here are some patterns but search around and you can find many more on YT etc.:
http://diygearsupply.com/diy-guides/tarps/
A very simple symmetrical diamond tarp with cat-cut edges is fast and simple to set up but does not protect as well from strong winds with driving rain/sleet/snow like the other more complex patterns which require more guy-lines and time to set up and take down.
When not by a fire and in the summer time I like SilNylon but a small fire ember will melt a hole in this fabric.
One of several methods to make a cat-cut on a tarp, jump to minute 1:40. use this this concept regardless of what fabric you chose. Heck you could buy cheap Tyvek and glue it with super glue and/or duct-tape:
http://youtu.be/0E7Ah2KDUoU
cat-cut edges reduce all that wind flapping noise.
$10 polyester tarp from Yukon
Those simple $10 polyester diamond shaped tarps from Yukon outfitters are reasonably good. Many people trying to go light weight prefer Silicon treated nylon (SilNylon) or Cuben Fiber but 190T polyester with polyurethane coating can actually hold up better to sunlight (UV), so may be worth the weigh penalty for such a small tarp. I also like the tarps that have grosgrain loops along the top or as side panel pull outs this allows you to run a cord thru them and suspend to nearby trees etc to reduce the rain puddles on it and increase the head space below.
From time to time you can find Yukon on sale at Woot dot com (sorry if that is spam) I have never purchase from that site but it is very popular with many camping people, most of their stuff is a little junky to me but everything I take camping gets trashed anyway so what the woot.
I recommend just cutting or finding on the ground some sticks or poles to hold up the corners and "Pitching" a tarp like this in "porch" mode, then only pull the corners down to the ground if it is going to rain hard or strong winds. Many YT videos showing this here is one, from a guy who sells very expensive tarps. minutes 5:30 to 6:30
http://youtu.be/UHuUmNOwBAw
One of my photos in comment above and other people's photos in previous comments showed porch mode tarps better, point is sticks or found poles make this easy to do if a nearby tree or shrub is not convenient, or use a trekking pole or canoe/kayak paddle etc.
I also have a "Free Standing" Tri-pod shelter from Abo that I replaced the fiberglass poles with aluminum to make it lighter and pack smaller but I rarely use, mostly just when on a sand bar/beach with no trees. These and Kelty shade maker versions etc are a pain to set up and pack and even with all aluminum poles or not do not fit in a small kayak.