Quick fix: With yarn in front, insert the left needle front-to-back into the stitch below the first right-needle stitch, slide the right needle out, and gently pull the yarn. Keep yarn at the front throughout — the motion is the same as tinking a knit stitch.
What you are seeing
You are on the wrong side of the work, on a purl row, and need to undo stitches back to an error. The yarn is at the front and the purl bumps face you. Tinking purl stitches feels less intuitive than tinking knit stitches because the yarn position and stitch visibility are different.
Why purl rows feel harder to tink
- The yarn must stay at the front the whole time — moving it to the back accidentally twists or tangles stitches.
- It is harder to see where the stitch below sits because purl bumps obscure the view.
- The motion feels less natural than knit tinking, so it is easy to insert the needle in the wrong direction.
Fix it now
- Bring the working yarn to the front (purl position) and keep it there throughout the entire tinking process.
- Look at the right needle — each stitch sits on it from the knit row worked below.
- Insert the left needle tip from front to back into the stitch directly below the first stitch on the right needle.
- Slide the right needle out of that stitch completely.
- Pull the working yarn gently to undo the loop — the stitch is now safely back on the left needle.
- Repeat, moving left stitch by stitch, until you reach the error.
- Work the error stitch correctly and purl forward to continue.
Prevent it next time
- Before starting a purl row, place a locking stitch marker at any stitch you suspect is an error on the previous row — it acts as a precise stop point when tinking back, so you do not overshoot.
- Work in good light so you can clearly see the stitch below on the right needle.