There are really indepth discussions on this in the Disciple of the Hand subsection where you can find the answers you're looking for and more, but while i'm here...

For my artisan apron, I did +18 craft +4 control +3cp. (really it depends on how close you are to each target for craft and control)

The glasses are good. If you can get your ixali gloves at reputation rank 7, they're the same as fully melded artisan mits except they are missing the CP. Sacrificing cp sucks, but they make a good place holder if you're just trying to hit stat targets.

You can make it without culi to 50 for a long time, but once you plan on getting your second master's books, you'll want reclaim (culi lv. 50).

For desynth, you should generally start moving up in item level once you hit around 60-70% chance of success. Anything below that doesn't give you enough of a boost to your desynth skill to make it worth it in my opinion (for leveling*).