Tarpaulins – Size and Type Guide: Getting the right tarpaulin can be a tricky business. It’s important to get the right size tarp to suit the job (big enough to cover whatever you need it for basically) Another important thing Factor is the Cut Size tarpaulins are provided in what’s known as a ‘cut size.’ Cut size is an industry standard term which indicates the size of the tarp before it’s seamed, hemmed and eyeleted. This means that the final size of any tarp can be as much as 30cms shorter than the size stated. You need to factor this in when ordering your tarp. It’s of course best to err on the side of caution, so if you think things might be tight it’s best to order a slightly larger tarp size to avoid dealing with a shortfall.