The Everstone trick is not limited to Ditto. When a parent Pokemon is holding an Everstone, the offspring will ALWAYS have the same nature as that parent. This is a pretty essential tool for any breeding operation.
Another essential tool for competitive breeding is the Destiny Knot. If either of the parents are holding it, the offspring are guaranteed to inherit 5 of their 6 IVs from the parents. However, the 6th IV will still be random. You also can't choose or influence which parent the IVs comes from -- it will still be picked at random, but it will always match one of the parents.
With regards to Hidden Abilities, it is preferable to use a female with the Hidden Ability. The offspring will inherit the HA at a higher rate than if the male is the parent with it. This is why it is favored to have the Ditto taking the male role after you have your Egg Moves in order.
