What about insects attracted to the glue in basted quilts if they are not washed when finished????
I always wash mine, gifted, personal, charity, all. I just prefer the look and can't imagine passing on to anyone fabric that has been handled by who knows how many people (and foreign!) and still has the chemicals on it. Besides which, it has been on the floor sometimes, left sitting for several days and gotten dusty, been licked -- well my fingers perhaps licked before I tried to manipulate two seams together, gotten a spot of food/drink/marking pen/animal dander on it...... I can't imagine not washing, bugs or not.
Jan in VA