I have never been a fan of knitting needle tip protectors – how many times have you found that the force of the stitches on your needle have popped the guard off the end, or they simply fall off from the friction of being carried in a bag? I wanted a soft flexible something that would actually slide onto my needle and keep the stitches from sliding off. At first, I used earplugs with a hole poked in them – they would go onto the needle and do the trick, but they only come in ear sizes. So I had cylinders made of durable, EVA foam in a variety of sizes with an opening in the middle that accommodate everything from size 0 (or the cord of an interchangeable needle set) to a US 15. Problem solved!