The work shows a young woman dressed in a yellow shawl, holding up a pair
of bobbins in her left hand as she carefully places a pin in the pillow on which she is
making her bobbin lace. In The Lacemaker , the artist presents in an abstract manner
the various elements which compose the girl's face and body and the pattern of the
material on which she is working. The girl's hands, the curls of her hair and the T-
cross which form her eyes and nose are all described in an abstract manner unusual
for the era in which Vermeer worked. In addition, the red and white of the lace is
shown as spilling from the sewing cushion with physical properties suggesting a near
liquid form. The blurring of these threads contrasts sharply with the precision of the
lace she is shown working on.