Help picking up stitches on neckband please

[MoaningMajestyReignsAgain]

I have knitted a tiny baby cardi from Sirdar early arrivals, and now need to finish it by adding the button band/neck edging.

I am a bit stuck. It says to pickup and knit 6 stitches from side of neck, across the 19 st on a stitch holder (top of the back piece) and pick up and knit 6 from the other side of the neck. The straight front parts are picked up separately.

I have picked up stitches before, I can just about manage that but then I get to the live stitches on the stitch holder. Will I need to actually knit across them then carry on picking up stitches? Otherwise I will have the live stitches on my needles but the yarn will be on the other side, 19st away from the next stitches to be picked up I feel like I haven't got enough hands!

Yep, just knit the 19 as normal then the yarn will be in the right place for the next 6 pick ups.

If you're told to "pick up" stitches, just transfer the 'live' stitches from the holder to the needle; if the instructions say "pick up and knit", then knit the live stitches (hope that makes sense! :) )

But it says pick up and knit for the others too and I think I will have to just pick them up and only knit across the live ones - the button band is supposed to be in a pattern too (Irish moss st). I will just have to have a go, thanks very much. I always though pick up and knit just meant pick up really, and not necessarily knit, IYKWIM.

I'll let you know how it goes, it's only a 12in chest so I want to finish it before the baby grows out of it

You can either transfer the 19 stitches on the back neck to a knitting pin and then knit them, or just use the stitch holder as a knitting pin and knit them straight off. It depends a bit on how you put your stitches on the stitch holder.