I have used Heat ‘n’ Bond to attach a piece of wool felt to the back of flat felted ornaments to hide the messy side. Thanks for sharing this technique! I needed a little something new to spark my creativity.
I guess if you're working on a padded surface, you could use a couple of pins, crossed over the top and bottom of the wire to hold it down, then whip them out for an extra press at the end once the centre is fused.