I heard Jinny Beyer say in a video on The Quilt Show just recently that she always uses 11 between. Otherwise the pressure she exerts on the needle held in the particular manner she recommends would break most others. She likes John James Glide is I'm not mistaken...both for hand piecing and quilting.
Originally Posted by Jingle
I had that happen when I use to hand quilt, trying to sew through seam allowances, using the tiny needles. To hand sew on bindings I now use a short thicker needle, they never break.