Neck Steeks and Neckband

First, I bind off the shoulders together using a three needle bind-off.

Here's what the body of the sweater looks like before I cut the neck steeks:

I cut the front neck steek:

Here's what the front neck steek looks like after being cut open:

Now I cut the back neck steek:

Here's what the neckline looks like after I've cut the steeks. The live stitches for the front and back are held on lengths of yarn.

Now I pick up stitches along the curved edge of the neck, picking up in the edge stitch that was knitted in the background color. For stability, I try to pick up two strands for each stitch.

Picked-up stitches:

And I knit the neckband. Here's the body with the neckband completed:

And a close-up!