Inflatable airbag and a method for making the same

A method of forming a fabric for an air-bag, the method comprising the steps of:

• providing a plurality of yarns, each yarn being formed from a plurality of individual fibers;
• applying an activatable additive or an activatable coating to each yarn, the additive or the coating initially not being activated and wherein, prior to activation, the additive or the coating presents little or no impedance to the relative movement of the fibers within the yarn and, following activation, the additive or the coating binds the fibers within the yarn to one another to prevent or hinder relative movement of the fibers in the yarn with respect to one another;
• weaving the plurality of yarns into a fabric;
• and
• passing the yarns through an activation zone, the activation zone including a compressing component which applies a compressive force to the yarns, the additive or the coating being activated as the yarns pass through the activation zone so that, following activation of the additive or of the coating, the yarns each have a substantially flat configuration so as to have a first relatively small cross-sectional dimension (a), and a second relatively large cross-sectional dimension (b).