Unless you're making pants with a casing, the waistband pattern piece isn't necessary. It's just a rectangle and more than likely it's not your size, particularly if the pattern was purchased by hip size and your waist is proportionately much smaller or larger. Use the piece for reference, but it's simpler to cut a straight-grain waistband to fit the pants upper edge after you've adjusted the fit and sewn the pants together. This also allows you to customize the waistband width to the interfacing you're using and to cut the waistband along the selvage so the inner edge is already finished (eliminating the bulk of a turned-under seam allowance).
Cut a straight-grain fabric strip with one long edge along the fabric selvage edge, cutting the strip 6" to 8" longer than your actual waistline measurement and twice the desired finished width plus 1 1/4" for seam allowances. For a 1"-wide finished band, cut a 3 1/4"-wide strip.
Apply the desired interfacing for the strip length.
Fold the strip in half crosswise and snip-mark the fold to mark the center back (or the right side seam if your pattern has a side zipper). Snip-mark at the raw edge not the selvage edge.
On the waistband's long raw edge,
machine baste 5/8" from the edge with
a contrasting color thread.
Machine baste along the 5/8" waist seamline of the pants.
With right sides together and the center back (or the right side seam) matching the snip-mark, pin the waistband to the pants on the waist seamline, with the pins parallel to the seamline.
Wrap the waistband to the inside over the pins and try on the pants. Make sure there's at least 1" of ease in the waistband. If necessary, remove the waistband and adjust the pants waistline fit. The pants waistline should be about 1" larger than the straight edge of the waistband. Ease the pants waistline slightly to fit the waistband.
If you've adjusted the pants waistline, re-pin the band and try on the pants. When you're satisfied with the fit, trim the excess waistband, allowing for seam allowances and an underlap or overlap for the button or hook-and-eye closure.
Sew the waistband to the pants, then finish the short ends. When stitching an overlap that ends at the zipper edge, stitch 1/16" from the edge to allow for turning the band smoothly without bulk (11). Press the seam allowances toward the waistband.
Turn the waistband right side out and pin in place on the pants inside, clipping the waistband just past the zipper tape. Turn under the waistband on the overlap, underlap and above the zipper; hand stitch in place. The selvage edge should extend 5/8" past the waistline stitching. From the pants right side, stitch in the ditch to catch the waistband selvage edge (12).
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