I have taught several classes on suitshirt jackets and we have done them with and without the ribbing. I always have them take the ribbing off at the very beginning and then when we are finished with the jacket they have the choice to rejoin it or not. You can take and bind the cuffs or serge them or use prarie points, whatever your heart desires. The ribbing that comes off of the bottom of the jacket can be used as the closure on the front if you desire. You can even keep (say blue) and put it on another color jacket. Mix and match. One thing that is really important is to purchase a shirt that is two times larger than what you would normally wear and I find that using men's shirts works out much better than the woman sizes. It gives you more room to work with and a longer jacket at the end. If you need any help, just let me know.