GOOD QUESTION! - I recently asked a gal that has quilted for over 60 plus years the same question as you did. She said she used to stay stitch all the way around a quilt. If it was large and heavy, she sewed around twice.
NOW, here's the interesting part. As she is older she found if she serged around her quilt she could straighten and close edges for easier binding!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Some older quilts always start to frazzel and fray at the binding but not hers as less wear and better prep for binding.
Duh! Have to pull the old serger out and start using her method. She also said, if quilt is straight, she leaves knives down.
Anyhow, I plan to adopt this method. Especially after seeing the way my quilts are treated, dragged sopping from washing machines and thrown into driers, makes me weep or want to kill. But stay stitching IS the way to go in my opinion, especially with flannel quilts, no matter what design.
Cindy