Method of cutting and labeling sheet material

A method for spreading sheet material on a support surface of a cutting table between opposite first and second ends of said cutting table and applying labels to said sheet material in preparation for cutting a plurality of pattern pieces from said sheet material with each piece bearing an identifying label comprising at least the following steps:

• providing at the first end of the cutting table a spreading and labeling carriage that is movable over the support surface of said cutting table under automatic control;
• clamping a ply of sheet material adjacent a free end thereof to the spreading and labeling carriage while said carriage is located adjacent the first end of the cutting table and the sheet material is located off of said cutting table;
• moving the spreading and labeling carriage over the support surface from said first end of said cutting table toward said second end and drawing the clamped sheet material onto the support surface to spread the sheet material on said cutting table;
• releasing the clamped free end of the sheet material from the spreading and labeling carriage after said sheet material has been so spread;
• controllably returning the spreading and labeling carriage back to the first end of the table after releasing the material spread on the support surface;
• and
• applying labels from the spreading and labeling carriage to the areas of the spread sheet material from which pattern pieces are to be cut during the return movement of the spreading and labeling carriage to the first end of the table.