Stitches

in knitting do you count casting on and off as rows?

I am knitting squares for a blanket for school and i desperately need to know, they are 30 stitches x 30 rows

Public Comments

1. Unless the pattern specifically says to I don't count casting on and off as rows. If this blanket is a joint effort between a variety of knitters tension would be important too so that all squares are the same size.
2. No, casting on and off do not count as rows. If several people are knitting squares you will need to make sure they all use the same tension (gauge) otherwise the squares will be slightly different sizes and the blanket will be distorted. 30 stitches and 30 rows doesn't usually give a square as the rows and stitches aren't the same size, so you will end up with rectangles that aren't exact squares.
3. As the others said, unless the pattern tells you to count the cast on row as the first row, it is never counted. The same for the cast off row. You said you are making squares for a blanket at school. Make sure that you use the same type of yarn for your squares so that they will all have the same measurements wide and long. Use the same needles if you can too, as small differences in yarn type and even needles made by a different company can effect the gauge of the swatch(or square) that you make. If there is a difference in the width or length that isn't much, you can still use them, they just need to be eased in as they are sewn together so they all appear to be exactly the same. I have had to do that many times over the years when doing projects where several people have gotten together to make squares or strips to sew together for afghans or blankets.