In an apparatus at least two spreader clamps (10, 11) that are configured for receiving a piece of cloth from two pairs of conveyor clamps (16, 17) that belong to a charger station (14). Typically, three or more charger stations (14) are provided. The operator of the apparatus first assesses whether a given batch of pieces of cloth predominantly contains small-sized pieces of cloth, of which more can sit next to each other on the conveyor belt (6) of the apparatus, or large-sized pieces of cloth that may take up as much space as the full working width of the apparatus. If the apparatus is set to the batch of pieces of cloth predominantly containing small-sized pieces of cloth, the spreader clamps (10, 11) are operated such that, for each single piece of cloth in the portion, they are operated to first spread the clamps to each their side of a centreline for small-sized pieces of cloth. If the operator assesses that the batch of pieces of cloth predominantly contains large-sized pieces of cloth, the spreader clamps are (10, 11) are operated such that, for each piece of cloth in the batch, they are operated to first spread a piece of cloth about a centreline for large-sized pieces of cloth.