the fabric having to be folded over itself at separation line 46 39 and to be cut and shifted apart at separation line 47 39 in addition the greater length of the pattern repeat results in the pattern not being properly aligned with respect to the second needle row d associated with the front sleeve cutting 39 in order to avoid excessive fabric waste the cutting pattern was slightly modified by shifting sleeve cutting 39 and the associated needle row d 39 a small distance to the left in fig1 to 12 the needle rows b c and d are shown to extend continuously over the full width of the stacking table it is also possible however to form transversely interrupted needle rows having gaps between individual cuttings by rotating the corresponding needles with their sockets to reverse their locking engagement so that they are not raised above the table top the finished stack formed in the above described manner has a considerable weight to facilitate its removal from the table blower 7 is energized to supply compressed air to air jets 10 10 39 for lifting the stack from below initially the stack covers mainly the end portion of the table adjacent the cutting device 11 from where it is to be moved towards the other.