I wash before gifting. It closes all those little pin holes and allows you to gift a beautiful quilt.
The only quilt I did not quilt was for a baby and I was not sure about what powder etc to use. So I gave it to dad with very specific washing instructions . Mum was amazed how it puffed up which he did not tell her. Glad I did this because I reAlsd when I saw the baby she had a skin condition.