Fabric Store Guesswork Sucks

I am going to make a bridge hammock (or two). I have a Hancock Fabric store within a few blocks of my house. I have made four fabric purchases. Two were okay (ripstop nylon). Two were not okay (polyester micro-suede). It is not easy for me to estimate the weight of a fabric just holding a corner of a bolt in the store. The two bad choices I made weighed much more than I wanted. One of them also turned out to be stretchy on the short axis. What the heck am I going to do with that?

I think I need to just order fabric from online retailers, with actual specifications available for the products. It is not fun waiting for deliveries, but it is not fun to waste money on fabric that I can't use either. If anyone knows of a good use for 4 yards of stretchy polyester micro-suede, please let me know. I am considering making some hats.