I always wash and dry my quilts completely before gifting. They go in the dryer on a perm press cycle (in my home dryer) as it has a humidstat control and stops drying when the fabric is dry regardless of type of fabric (clothes, bedding, quilts). If it can't stand up to that abuse I don't think I would gift it. I never prewash my batting but generally prewash all my fabric but still haven't noticed any issues.