Bags wicketed on a flexible binding

Claim 1

In a continuous process for the successive packaging of individual articles in a series of articles delivered sequentially to a packaging station, the improvement comprising the steps of: providing a stack of flattened flexible packaging sheets held assembled on an elongate flexible binding member extending through registered wicket holes in said sheets, said member defining a hand grippable severable loop between the wicket holes of the topmost sheet of said stack and a shank extending from each wicket hole in the bottommost sheet of the stack, mounting the stack of sheets on a sheet dispensing wicket base means arranged and disposed to secure the shank portions of the flexible binding member, severing the flexible binding member at a point on the hand grippable loop and thereby forming upwardly extending free-ended flexible wicket elements holding said sheets in readiness for one at a time removal, and removing the packaging sheets from the stack over said severed ends of the severed loop of the flexible binding member without tearing said sheets.