Picking up sts at c/o edge

[Think of Winter]

I'm making the Earthworm from Amigurumi Knits, and I have to pick up all the cast on sts. I went down several needle sizes, and the picked up sts are still way too tight (from a US6 to US1.) What am I doing wrong? I mean, those sts are so tight I can't slide them down the needle. I used a long-tailed c/o. Should I just go down a row? I checked Ravelry, and no one mentioned this issue.

[Juvysen]

I don't have any experience with that cast on, but generally picking up stitches at the cast on edge w/a long tail cast on, you go past the actual cast on edge and pick up the stitches beyond it in the fabric, i believe. Not sure if that makes any sense.

[Think of Winter]

Well, turns out I'd just forgotten how to pick up sts. Now that I've been reminded that you have to use new yarn to do it (and not just jam the needle into your existing sts), how do I make the picked up sts blend seamlessly with the ribbing? For the pattern, you basically knit a rectangle out of 1x1 ribbing, then Kitchener the c/o edge to the live sts to make a tube.

[Juvysen]

You don't need a provisional cast on for that?

[Think of Winter]

That might have been an easier way to do it, but it's not how the pattern is written.