Abstract: Disclosed is a device for lifting a single layer of fabric or fiber reinfed plastic sheets from a stack of such sheets with minimal damage to the structure of the fabric. A frame and a flexible base plate are provided with a plurality of individual needle gripper devices located at opposite ends of the base plate. Each needle gripper device includes a needle of arcuate form rotatably mounted about an axis of its arc so that when the needle rotates, the tip of the needle will penetrate a fabric sheet upon which the apparatus is placed and then roll the sheet relative to the frame so that the sheet is peeled away from its original position without stretching or deformation of the fabric.