Hello there! I just started trying to learn to knit and I’m trying to make my first project, a knitted pillowcase. My question is this: the pattern calls for 84 sts to be cast on, which I did . . . but in order to fit those on the needle, I had to “smush” them on. I just knitted the first row, and I can tell that it is going to be difficult to keep “smushing” the stitches on there. However, if I go to the store, it seems that needles are all approx. the same length . . . so how does one go about knitting long rows like this? I would like to knit a blanket at some point, and I don’t know how I would work the longest parts of the blanket . . . HELP!
You should probably buy a circular needle, 24" or 29" should work fine.
Circular needles are often used to knit a circle (like socks, body of a sweater in one piece). But you can knit flat pieces with them, too.
In fact, if you are knitting a pillow case/cover, you might want to knit it as a circle/tube anyway. 29" might be too long if you want to knit it circularly.
Do you have to use circular needles? It seems that with all the sale of the average sized metal needles that there should be some way to use them for larger projects . . . but I’m very new so I may just be naive 
No, you don’t have to use a circular needle, it’ll just make it easier to have so many stitches on your needles.
How long are your straight needles? I think the longest they are generally made is 14". If you are having trouble craming your 84 stitches onto 14" needles, the next best step might be a circular needle. You might be able to find longer custom made straights, but with all those stitches on them they will be awkward to work with and probably heavy, too. Using a circular needle will be much easier to get all 84 stitchs on and more evenly distributed so it won’t be so heavy, either.
Blankets can also be knit in sections and seamed together, if all you have to use is the 14" straights.
Circular needles can be used just the same as straight needles to knit flat items, but they can hold so many more sts easily. They don’t automatically knit things in the round, you have to join the sts to do so; so you would turn at the end of the row just like you do with straight needles.
Ahhh ok . . . I just bought 14" needles today, they definitely fit much better!! I’ll probably purchase some circular needles later on if I continue on to the blanket. Thank so much for the help!!