Banners with more then 16 patterns on them don't show all the patterns.

In Minecraft 1.8.8 and all versions after banners with more then 16 patterns on them don't show all the patterns. I created a banner with more then 16 patterns on it (it has 18), and it was accepted as the new server banner, then when I updated to 1.8.8, I was really upset to find the banner ruined (2 patterns are missing) . Can this be fixed? I spent a long time working on that banner.