I always wash my fabrics before cutting them.
By the time the quilt is finished, it will have been handled a lot. And my cat "assists" me. I wash mine in a top loader (it's a decent sized one) washing machine on a SHORT gentle cycle with lots of water and a small amount of Shaklee detergent or Dreft.
Sometimes I'll rinse it twice.
Then dry on a gentle or permanent press cycle until BARELY dry. If it's a really large quilt, I'll take it to the laundromat where they have the BIG machines.
But I make what I call "utility" quilts - I expect them to get used a lot.