Upcycled Grey Ruched Front Top

I've had the idea for this top for a really long time. I really love adding twists to basics (you can see this here and here) and adding a ruched front to a top seemed like a great way to make it a bit more interesting. It's a detail I've seen on quite a few ready to wear tops recently too which is often where I get inspiration from.

Here's the bonus part of this make: it's an upcycle! My dad was given a pair of pyjamas on a long distance flight with work a few months ago and he gave them to me to thinking I could use the fabric. This is the top, there is also a pair of burgundy pyjama bottoms which I might try and alter to make myself a pair of joggers at some point. 

So I started with a long-sleeved men's t-shirt which I then cut along the seams to get seperate sleeves and bodice pieces. I then placed my pattern pieces over the corresponding t-shirt pieces and cut them out. With the leftover fabric I cut lots of 1" strips to make the ties and then a neckband. I used pretty much all of the t-shirt which is always very satisfying! Also, my dad was pretty surprised to see how much the t-shirt had changed!

The ruching is actually much easier than it looks. Essentially I created two channels which then gather when the ties are added. It's not that easy to explain so I'd reccomend watching this video which shows just how easy it is. The top in the video is a bit different to mine, I was keen to add long sleeves so I kind of made up the process as I went along. Luckily, it worked! After looking at some RTW tops it seemed like most of them had v-necks which is what I went for. This was actually my first time sewing a v-neck. It could definitely be neater, but to be honest I don't think you can really tell when I'm wearing the top. 

My preference is to tie the the ties in a bow and then just leave the ends hanging. It means you can make the ruching more or less prominent, or even leave it completely flat without any ruching if you like. I tied knots at the end of each tie and then just cut it as jersey doesn't fray. I also made one tie slightly longer than the other, I like the more casual look more than if they were both the same length (even though it was done on purpose!).
One feature that I'm really pleased with is that I was able to keep the original hem of the t-shirt. Hemming jersey can be quite frustrating and the original hem has a professional coverstitched finish.