I always wash before gifting....there will be not only glue to wash out, but starch, chemicals in fabric from manufacture, dirt and oils from my hands during construction and who knows what else it may have picked up while I was making it....and it also helps make visible any little oops that need fixed or stray threads that need dealt with....I feel so much better about the quilt once it is washed, almost as if it isn't done until washed and dried!