Burlap that sheds and a spilled cup of milk

I fell in love with burlap like most blogland and I created this beauty...

so I thought beauty...

I have to admit I have been secretly having love/hate feelings for my pretty table runners. I love them when I look at them, but I hate them when we need to use the table for dinner.

Burlap is sooooo messy! It sheds relentlessly, I had hoped the shedding would stop but it doesn't and every time I have to move the darn runners I kick myself for loving them so much. Hubby has hated them from the time he laid eyes on them which makes admitting I hate them even harder.

Last night at dinner I decided I would just put our dinner place mats over the runners instead of taking them whole thing off like I usually do every night. A very unfortunate accident happened with in the first 20 seconds of sitting at the table...my son spilled his milk all over them. Fortunately burlap is resilient and did not stain but once they were off for the night I rekindled my love for my empty table top scratches and all. So now my table is naked, but it's OK I'm actually lovin it!

So naturally I have to ask all my burlap lovin friends, does your burlap shed and what do you about it?

Is it decorating is painful so live with it or is there some crazy trick I missed along the way. Becausee I have to say if there is not, I am not diggin the burlap so much on this table. Now on my dining table, that we hardly ever use or wreaths or other projects FAB idea, just not here on this table.

Jen