DIY Hose Cover – NO Sewing Needed!

Is your hose plain? Not matching your hookah? Did you make a DYI hose and want a little more class for your smoking sessions?

Well, look no further my friends, here’s the matching DYI instruction so you can make your own custom hose cover.

Without the use of a sewing machine!

Ah wait, you don’t want to spend hours hand sewing something, well that’s alright – NEITHER do I.

For this hose cover, you’ll need a little sewing skills and a trip to the craft/fabric store.

• Cloth (at least 6” in width, length between 45”-64”)
• Matching thread
• Needles
• Iron fusible tape
• Elastic
• Scissors
• Iron & iron board

Step One

Visit your craft/fabric store (even Walmart or Kmart) and head over to the craft section. In that area, you want to look for something called “Fusible Fabric Tape”. It looks like flimsy paper tape – it’s used to fuse together 2 pieces of fabric with the heat of an iron. You don’t need a lot, or really wide, less than ½” works fine. In that same area, look for some elastic as well; again aim for ½” or less.

Now head over to the fabric section and find something that catches your eye. As long as it’s not “see-thru”, lace, shiny, or heat sensitive, anything will do. You’ll only need about 6” of width, but you need to find the correct length of fabric to fit the hose you want to cover. Typical fabric comes in: 36”, 45”, 54”, and 64” inch lengths. If your hose is longer, you might be able to find some 80”, but it would be easier to buy extra and sew it together to get the length you need. (I got red velvet that was 45” long). Now go to the thread area and try to find a SMALL spool of matching colored thread. You don’t need much, so get the smallest one you can find. If you don’t have any needles at home, pick those up too.

Step Two

Lay out your fabric, topside down (patterned side). Preheat your iron (you have an iron, right?) Set the heat to what the package of fusible tape requires. Open the elastic and cut two pieces about 8-10” long. Open the fusible tape and also cut two strips 8-10” long. Lay 1 strip of tape and elastic down, about ¾” down from the end of the fabric.

Here comes a tricky bit – fold over the fabric, making a pocket. Make sure the elastic is free to move, but the fabric overlaps the fuse tape. Use the iron (read the package of tape BEFORE you start – it really helps) and set the tape to trap the elastic in the pocket. Repeat on the other end of the fabric. You just created the ends that will fit snug against/over the end pieces of the hose.

Step Three

Now lay the fabric straight and cut a 10-12” piece of tape and lay along the edge. Don’t make it too long, it can quickly become to difficult to do the next step.

Now, fold the fabric over and again, using the iron, set the tape. Continue down the entire length of the fabric, repeating the process until you have sealed the whole edge.

TIP: USE lots of pressure and heat – go over the tape multiple times and don’t be afraid to keep the iron on it for 15 secs or so. If your fabric is thick, you may have to hold it down longer. Make sure to press BOTH sides as well!

Step Four

Now you have a cloth tube. Holding one end, pull the elastic in the pocket together to form a circle. As soon as you have it as tight as you think you’ll need (don’t pull the elastic tight – just the fabric), tie a knot in it and trim the ends. DON’T do the other end just yet.

TIP: Look at your hose tips – do they have knobs on the bottom? If they do, don’t pull the circle overly tight. If they DON’T – Pull them as tight as you can. Otherwise your cover won’t stay put!

Step Five

Now comes the ONLY sewing you should have to do. In order to slightly reinforce the sealed edge, run a simple quick stitch up the inner edge of the tube. Don’t sew into the fusing, but just inside of it. Nothing simple, just a securing stitch so during the next step nothing comes undone.

Now if you got thick tape (like me) you can slightly trim down the fused edge a little. This will make doing the next step easier. You don’t have to, it’s up to you. You’ll see why in a second.

Step Six

Now comes the fun part – you need to turn your tube right side out. Starting at the end you already tied off, push the fabric up into itself and slowly work it out. This is the longest step and nothing I can tell you can speed things up. Go nice and slow, taking care NOT to tug the edge – you’ll pull the tape apart. Now you see why you ran that reinforcing stitch up the inside edge and left the other end untied.

Once you have it completely right side out, you need to tie off the open end. Repeat the process like before and trim the extra elastic. Tuck the knots inside. Don’t worry about seeing the elastic, once it’s on the hose, you’ll never see it again.

Step Seven

Now take your hose and start threading it in the cover. I found it easier to use the smaller end (that you plug into the stem). Again, go slowly and it should just slip on nice and easy.

Take the ends and pull them just over the bottom of the end pieces (mine had a knob on them that the ends fit into nicely). If yours don’t have a knob, just make sure you made that cloth circle as tight as possible.

And there you go – an almost NO SEW hose cover. It took me about an hour, making up the directions as I went. If you have access to a sewing machine – MORE POWER to you! But don’t let that be your excuse not to make one.

Dress those hoses up and impress your hookah friends. Have fun!