Originally Posted by Peckish

I usually go up a size, from a 12 or 14 for piecing to a 16 or 18 for quilting. I find that if I don't use a 16 or 18, I get skipped stitches. And I use a topstitch needle. The eye is larger, and the scarf (a groove in the needle) is longer, which protects the thread more from the friction as it moves in and out of the fabric.

Generally you want to match the size needle with the size thread, but IMO you can't go wrong with a topstitch, because as I said, the eye is larger, so it accommodates different weights of thread.