Abstract: A foil hood is gathered into a stack of folds and then fitted over four fingers in inner positions of the fingers with the hood open downward. A holding device then clamps the hood against the fingers, the fingers are spread into outer positions to transversely stretch the hood, and then the holding device is disengaged. Finally the fingers are moved downward along the load such that the closed end of the hood engages on the top of the load and the hood is pulled upward fold-by-fold off the fingers through a predetermined position at which generally all of the folds have been pulled off the fingers to an end position at which the hood is stretched vertically over the load and all of the folds have been pulled off the fingers.