I made some Sketchbook shorts for my 9 year old son. He measured an almost perfect size 8, but the shorts are huge on him. Now, I am newish to sewing so I maybe measured something wrong. His (very skinny) 12 year old brother can wear them OK. They are little baggy on him also so he says they are around the house shorts.
My question is, What do I need to do to make some shorts that fit? I just measured the 9 year old's hips and they are 28 inches. Maybe make a size 7? For the 12 year old make the size 8 with added length and maybe cut an extra half inch or so on the side seams? or maybe just wider seam allowances on the sides? My boys are drowning in these shorts.
Also, are these shorts just baggy? My boys usually wear shorts with zipper flies. So those I'm guessing are a little more snug so maybe our expectations are off.