I sanded a short piece of 2X4, bent a piece of hanger in two and drilled little holes for the end. That's where the cone sits. One more hole, inserted another piece of wire hanger there and made a loop on the other end. Been using them for years.
Inside the cone should be a label telling you what the thread is. I find lots of cotton wrapped poly and even some 100% cotton threads. I just make sure to use the same weight in the bobbin and adjust the bobbin and top tension.