Straps on a felted handbag

ok I asked before but obviously it wasn’t clear… I am working on a handbag and nearing the top where decreasing is coming into the pattern. after you decrease one side you have 9 stitches left and place them on a stitch holder… then proceed to the other side to decrease and end up again with 9 stitches… my question is… when you move to the other side ithe pattern says " join yarn " so do I leave my skein on the first decreased side and start a new on the other side?? and if so I suppose I would just weave it in since there would be no end to fuse it to… correct? The handle on this purse is i cord and after you decrease the second side you just work up from there ( according to the pattern ) for 30 ins. then kitchener stitch it to the first 9 stitches you placed on the stitch holder… Thanks for listening! any help is much appreciated… Hey it’s cold here in the midwest!!! is this Spring???

yes, that’s right, just join the new ball on and weave in the ends later.

[size=1]no, its spring… but this is our world dying…[/size]