I use milliner needles for hand sewing especially for EEP. I don't like sharps or applique needles. I use embroidery needles for big stitch quilting.

I use the Tulip #10 milliners needle in the red (?) package for most everything. Just got used to using it and not comfortable with others now.

I like the JJ milliner size 11 for appliqué, EPP, bindings, and the limited hand sewing I do.

I love size 11 milliners needles for English Paper Piecing (sewing the pieces together) and applique. They are hard to find so when I do I get several packages. They are very fine needles so take a fine thread like a silk thread or my favorite Bottom Line (which is 60 weight thread). I use Richard Hemming brand needles as that is what I can find.
To thread a needle more easily lick the eye of the needle rather than the thread. The moisture on the needle will pull the thread through the eye
I have a needle threader (sorry can't remember the brand but it's not Clover) that has two size threaders on it, one at each end. You sit it on a surface and push a plunger to put the thread through the needle. I like that a lot but the size 11 needle has too small of an eye for it to work. It does work great on size 8 and larger needles however.
When folding my fabric over my template for EPP I generally use a size 8 John James Embroidery needle as they are a little bigger with a large eye and shorter than a milliners. I use up bobbin and end of spool thread for this hence I need a bigger eye.
Remember the larger the number, the finer the needle in hand sewing needles (size 8 needle is bigger than a size 11). The name of the needle (between, milliners, embroidery etc) tells you the shape of the needle.
It's a matter of personal preference. I found what works for me. Others have said my size 11 ones would drive them crazy.

There is a large variety of needles out there and you just might ask a couple of friends who have different needles if you can have 1 needle from them so you can give it a try and see what suits you best. I need a needle with an eye large enough that I can thread my quilting thread thru which is what I use for hand sewing my binding to the back and long enough to hold.

Amazing! I just found a package of John James needles. Didn't know I had them.

Forgot to mention I buy the Gold'n Glide by JJ. They have a gold coated eye to make it easier to thread & are Teflon coated so they slide through the fabric easier.

However, when I finish this batch I bought, I'm planning to get some of the ThimbleLady hand sewing needles because they are nickle-free. It's the one downside of JJ needles (and every other brand I've tried). I have a nickle allergy & my hands swell while doing hand applique such that they become unable to properly form stitches, forcing me to quit sewing before I'm really ready to. A nickle-free needle would be so ideal. I have some of her hand quilting needles and they are fantastic!

I use Jeana Kimball's straw needles #11 for all my hand sewing - applique, sewing down bindings, sewing on sleeves, etc. Because straw needles are hollow, they bend a little, making them flexible enough to make more than one stitch at a time. But because they are super sharp, you really need to wear a thimble when using them. The eye is small, but many people have luck with a Clover needle threader.

I love all the discussion on needles. M\My favorite has a pointy end and a hole to put the thread. Some are sharper, some are fatter.

I love Roxanne's tiny little one inch needles. Then I got Lyme disease and stiff swollen fingers. Now I'm using Clover Black Gold Needles until the residual problems are resolved (hopefully).