If you follow Amy Butler's instructions for fusing the circles for the Big Dot Pillow in her In Stitches book, your results will be fine, but there are easier ways to bond appliques in place. My favorite adhesive web product is The Warm Company's  Lite Steam-a-Seam 2 - a fusible adhesive with paper-backed sticky adhesive on both sides. Here's how I cut and fused all of my circles for my pillow.

First, I found a plate in my cupboard just about the same size as the template in the book. My pillow form is a little smaller than the one called for, so it won't matter that my plate is a smidge smaller than 8" in diameter. I used the plate to draw circles on one side of the Steam-A-Seam 2 - so much faster and easier than tracing a pattern!

Then I rough cut the circles, leaving about 1/2" all the way around. I peeled the unmarked paper from the other side of each circle, exposing the sticky adhesive, then placed the circles on the wrong sides of the patchwork. Since the sticky adhesive only forms a temporary bond I was able to reposition the circles until I liked the layout of the stripes in each one. I rough cut the patchwork around the adhesive just to make it easier to work with each one. Then a trip to the ironing board to fuse the fabric and adhesive.

Next I cut out each circle, following the lines on the paper backing. When I'm ready to position them on the pillow front all I have to do is peel off the remaining paper backing and stick them on the pillow. I'll be able to reposition them until I like the layout, and then tweak the placement until all of the spaces between circles are even. Tip - Use a digital camera to take pictures of your favorite layouts so you'll have a record of each one; use the photo as a guide to recreating the one you like best.