It's questionable if you introduce significant electrical resistance by two solder points (and extra copper) by this sort of mod, but if it works...
Anyhow, I sleeved some extension cords for easier access from where I'm sitting. It could have been easier. Months ago I bought the cheapest cord-style USB hub available
from Dealextreme, but of course it came DOA so I salvaged its inline jacks for this.
I thread the inner wires from a 4-conductor phone cord through paracord. For the business end (jacks, here) it's better if you stagger the wire cuts before joining them. Strip wire ends, preload thin heatshrink tube, twist the exposed wire ends, and tin with solder. Shrink the heatshrink tubing. The staggering is there to prevent a single bulge of wire joins that would prevent the paracord from sliding over. Complete the end of the paracord by thicker heatshrink and perhaps some adhesive underneath.
For the other end, I managed to find a motherboard-compatible ribbon cable with a header.
I have no clue why the 5th USB wire isn't hooked up in to the jacks. Maybe it should just be grounded, I guess by touching the metal PC case.