distressing fabric

[twite.livejournal.com]

Not fabric that makes one sad, but, rather, how does one make strong, high-quality fabrics (velvet in particular) look worn and shabby as quickly as possible?

Any ideas? I have lots of great scraps of upholstery fabric: mohair velvet, cotton velvet and thick jacquards, and I want to rub off the pile from the velvet and bang it up a bit. I actually took a sharp rock to one piece and after vigorous scrubbing made NO progress in removing the pile! I can figure out how to make stuff dirty, but not how to wear it down.